Times:
Mourinho makes triumphant return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea crash out
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 (Inter win 3-1 on agg)
Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent
Of all the many traits that José Mourinho instilled in his Chelsea teams, the only one to rear its head last night was the persecution complex.
Once again John Terry et al found themselves venting anger at the match officials as they departed the Champions League stage, but this time any talk of a Uefa refereeing conspiracy should give way to some serious self-examination.
There will be recriminations over the red card shown to Didier Drogba, for an apparent stamp on Thiago Motta with three minutes remaining, and over a strong Chelsea penalty appeal that was rejected in either leg, but do not let Terry or anyone else say that they were robbed over two fast and furious legs. Quite simply, they were beaten by a better team.
A better team or simply a better organised, better drilled team? Either way, it reflects well on Mourinho and rather less so on Carlo Ancelotti, his latest successor in the Chelsea dugout. As Chelsea’s players looked to the touchline for inspiration in the second half, they saw Mourinho gesticulating wildly and Ancelotti looking, well, a little forlorn. We must get away from this unhealthy idea that touchline demeanour is an indicator of managerial ability, but for as long as Terry, Drogba, Frank Lampard and the rest remain in thrall to Mourinho, comparisons, while odorous, are inevitable.
Ancelotti could well lead Chelsea to the Barclays Premier League title and the FA Cup this season, but this was not a good night for him. Even if Inter’s supporters were almost certainly guilty of wishful thinking as they serenaded the AC Milan legend with lusty chants of “Bye bye Carletto” towards the end of the game — and repeated that message when Roman Abramovich made the long, lonely walk across the pitch towards the dressing-room area afterwards — Ancelotti will reflect on this as the most chastening night of his first season at Stamford Bridge.
It was also a night when Inter gave a reminder that there is still life in Serie A. Italian clubs have fared miserably against their Premier League counterparts in the Champions League over the past couple of seasons — most recently AC Milan’s wretched capitulation at Old Trafford a week ago — but Inter performed here with silk as well as steel, the former provided almost exclusively by Wesley Sneijder and the latter supplied by redoubtable figures such as Lúcio, Walter Samuel, Thiago Motta and Esteban Cambiasso, four players who conform to Mourinho’s requirement for his teams to have a strong, unyielding spine.
It was Sneijder, inevitably, who set up the only goal of the night with 11 minutes left as he produced the third in a series of defence-splitting passes, to send Samuel Eto’o clear for an opportunity that, after his earlier profligacy, he did not dare to miss. Chelsea’s players looked to the assistant referee for an offside flag, but Alex, who had a difficult evening alongside Terry in central defence, had clearly played Eto’o onside.
Sneijder is a wonderful talent but he could hardly have imagined that he would find as much space as this in the cramped confines of Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea still had a player in the Claude Makelele mould to patrol the area in front of their back four, it would have been a different story, but John Obi Mikel has nothing of the great Frenchman’s discipline or tactical nous.
Mourinho made the rather gratuitous point afterwards that Branislav Ivanovic and Yuri Zhirkov — two of the four players in the Chelsea starting line-up whom he had not bought — had been weak links, but Ancelotti’s team were poor in every department. With the exception of Florent Malouda, they simply did not perform.
There was a five-minute spell either side of half-time when Chelsea banged on the door repeatedly but, with Inter defending resolutely, it was not enough. When Malouda danced inside two challenges in the penalty area just before half-time, Samuel appeared from nowhere to take the ball off his toe. When Drogba sent Nicolas Anelka through moments later, Samuel repeated the trick. When Drogba finally escaped the attentions of Samuel with a twisting run early in the second half, Lúcio was there to snuff out the danger. And when Malouda fizzed a low shot through a crowd, Júlio César, Inter’s excellent but largely untested goalkeeper, pushed the ball around a post.
Ancelotti, his desperation growing, sent on Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou as he looked for something different, but neither player made the slightest impact. If anything, the changes played into Mourinho’s hands as Sneijder found even more space in midfield.
The momentum was firmly with Inter and, after Sneijder set up Eto’o and Diego Milito in quick succession, with the unfairly maligned Zhirkov making the recovery tackle on each occasion, Milito struck another opportunity wide, Mourinho’s blood pressure seemed to soar on the touchline.
He need not have worried. Sneijder split the home defence again and Eto’o ran clear, this time finally beating Ross Turnbull, Chelsea’s third-choice goalkeeper.
Mourinho reacted by pumping his fist very discreetly, the Tim Henman of celebrations, and, being the shrinking violet that he is, proceeded to watch the final minutes of the game from the privacy of the players’ tunnel, away from the television cameras.
And let us end at the start of the evening, when Mourinho appeared on the touchline pre-match to a soundtrack of the Rainbow classic Since You’ve Been Gone. The next line goes “I’m outta my head, can’t take it”, swiftly followed by “You cast the spell, so break it”. The concern for everyone at Stamford Bridge is that Mourinho’s spell, far from being broken, has been reinforced. And if you think that Terry and his team-mates will not be pining for Mourinho this morning, it is to underestimate the extent to which he remains, in their eyes, the Special One.
Chelsea (4-3-3): R Turnbull — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, Y Zhirkov (sub: S Kalou, 73min) — M Ballack (sub: J Cole, 63), J O Mikel, F Lampard — N Anelka, D Drogba, F Malouda. Substitutes not used: R Taylor, R Carvalho, J Belletti, J Bruma, D Sturridge. Booked: Malouda, Drogba, Alex, Terry. Sent off: Drogba.
Inter Milan (4-2-1-3): Júlio César — Maicon, Lúcio, W Samuel, J Zanetti — E Cambiasso, T Motta (sub: M Materazzi, 90) — W Sneijder (sub: M Mariga, 85) — S Eto’o, D Milito, G Pandev (sub: D Stankovic, 74). Substitutes not used: F Toldo, I Córdoba, D Santon, R Quaresma. Booked: Eto’o, Motta, Lúcio, Júlio César.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
Slaps in face of respect
Didier Drogba departed the Champions League in ignominy for the third successive season last night 2008 Final, Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1 (United win 6-5 on pens): Drogba is sent off in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic.
2009 Semi-final, Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 (1-1 on agg; Barcelona win on away goals rule): Refereeing decisions prompt striker to shout at a TV camera: “It’s a f***ing disgrace.”
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Still the Special One. Still the king of Stamford Bridge. Still the tactical grand master. Jose Mourinho, Inter’s inspiration, orchestrated Chelsea’s first home defeat in the Champions League in 22 games, sending his old club crashing out of the competition that Carlo Ancelotti was so expensively brought in to win.
So the mistake Roman Abramovich made in falling out with Mourinho in 2007 came back to haunt him. The Portuguese had hinted beforehand that he would not celebrate any Inter goal out of respect for his former employers but he couldn’t resist it.
Mourinho marked Samuel Eto’o’s fine late strike with a few steps down the touchline before remembering his promise, heading back to the dug-out, still scarcely able to conceal his delight. He knew that Inter were superior in all departments: their defence was mobile defiance personified, their midfield a winning mix of passing and tackling while their four-man attack never gave Chelsea’s back-line a moment’s peace.
Sadly, shamefully, the game ended in even greater humiliation for Chelsea. Didier Drogba, having tangled with Thiago Motta, who went down as if shot, was dismissed, echoing his embarrassing exit last season. Suddenly it was England-Argentina as John Terry and Javier Zanetti exchanged unpleasantries.
As tempers flared all over the place, as Dejan Stankovic could have followed Drogba for a challenge on Alex, some of the Chelsea supporters around the away dug-out suggested exactly where they felt Mourinho should go. He headed for the tunnel, taking a famous, familiar scalp with him.
Mourinho had sprung a surprise, sending out his strong, athletic Inter side in 4-2-3-1 formation. His intentions had been clear: going for the jugular, going for the away goal with Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder and the left-sided Goran Pandev supporting the frontrunning Diego Milito.
In a tense match crammed with compelling duels, Inter started at top speed, looking to test Ross Turnbull, Chelsea’s inexperienced but promising keeper. Maicon, showing his ambitions with an early shot, enjoyed a buccaneering opening half down the right, Chelsea never found their stride in the first half.
Florent Malouda wriggled into the box only to be thwarted. Michael Ballack, needing a big game but not delivering and removed on the hour, fired wide. Nerves jangled like alarm bells. Chelsea, needing to score, knew they were in a real scrap, both physical and tactical.
With the stakes so high, tempers rose high as well. Lucio’s foot was certainly high on Malouda. Eto’o then pushed Ballack. Eto’o was enraging Chelsea fans, partly with his angry hornet impression and partly with his play-acting. Such was the tumbling Cameroonian’s eagerness to inspect the Bridge lawn closely that an invitation to the Chelsea Flower Show surely awaits.
Eto’o was eventually booked for dissent and could have walked when, waving an imaginary card, attempted to get Alex cautioned. Inter’s appliance of the dark arts and sciences was rampant at times, particularly at defending corners. Thiago Motta hauled down Branislav Ivanovic. Then Walter Samuel wrestled Didier Drogba over. So obvious, so outrageous, so ignored.
Sadly for Chelsea, the German referee, Wolfgang Stark, haughtily waved play on. It must have all been deeply confusing for Malouda as he ran in to deliver his corners; familiar faces kept disappearing in the box.
Frustration and fear ate away at Chelsea in the first half. Maicon again threatened, lifting a ball down the right for Eto’o to chase. John Terry, spotting the danger quickly, darted smartly across to clear.
Sneijder’s corners coaxed more sweatbeads from Chelsea foreheads. Fortunately for the hosts, Drogba demonstrated his defensive power, repelling one of Sneijder’s specials. Inter’s Dutchman then crashed a free-kick into the wall after Alex had sneakily blocked off an Eto’o run.
Still Inter menaced. When Maicon hoisted in a great cross from the right, Terry misjudged its flight pattern, allowing it through to Eto’o. The miscalculations continued, Eto’o heading down and over.
Increasingly aware of time’s unforgiving passage, Chelsea stepped up a gear, finishing the half promisingly. Alex swept a free-kick over. Nicolas Anelka began buzzing down the inside-right channel. Drogba started to break free of Lucio’s shackles.
Mourinho was living every moment with his team, willing them to make every tackle, every header, every clearance. Some of Stark’s decisions set the Special One off on the road to meltdown, Inter’s coach remonstrating with the fourth official when Chelsea were ludicrously awarded a corner after the ball had come off Drogba. Mourinho, warmly greeted by the Bridge at first, earned a brief flurry of catcalls when comically refusing to give the ball to Yuri Zhirkov, who was seeking to take a quick throw-in. Russians and Mourinho, Part 245.
Still Chelsea built. Still Inter blocked. Malouda teased the ball through but was brilliantly dispossessed by Samuel, the obdurate centre-half aptly nicknamed The Wall. When Drogba then chipped a perfect pass on to the chest of Anelka, Samuel and Julio Cesar combined to slam shut any window of opportunity.
The half concluded with Lampard bursting through, losing possession but earning a tirade from Samuel, who accused the England international of diving. Nonsense.
Still the visitors’ gamesmanship continued. Inter arrived late for the second half. When it did, Thiago Motta promptly body-checked Malouda. The ensuing free-kick was badly wasted by Drogba, whose 25-yarder dribbled through towards an untroubled Julio Cesar.
Lifting Chelsea’s spirits, Malouda was beginning to influence proceedings. After a brief moment of concern when Sneijder superbly released Eto’o and Turnbull rushed out to collect, Chelsea stormed through the gears, Malouda bringing a magnificent low save from Julio Cesar.
Brimming with intelligence and growing counter-attacking class, Inter should have wrapped the tie up midway through the second half. Zhirkov rescued Chelsea as Pandev was about to shoot. Then Sneijder seized on poor control by Terry to chip the ball over Chelsea’s ragged defence. Milito ran through but placed his shot wide. Bad miss.
Inter had the edge, Chelsea the edginess. Sensing the hosts’ apprehension, Mourinho’s men broke time and again on the counter. Some of their passing was immaculate, one pass from Esteban Cambiasso to Maicon was exquisite.
Ancelotti was ringing the changes, withdrawing the anonymous Ballack for Joe Cole and then sending on Salomon Kalou for Zhirkov. Kalou brought immediate pace and purpose, pleading vainfully for a penalty after a speedy break into the box.
Pushed forward, Chelsea were knocked out by a brilliant counter-punch. When Sneijder lifted a pass towards Eto’o, his response was majestic, the ball drilled right footed past Turnbull.
Chelsea were devastated. Mourinho ruled the Bridge. Again.
----------------------------------------------------
Sun:
Chelsea 0 Inter 1
SHAUN CUSTIS at Stamford Bridge
WELL, we did not really expect him to lose did we? The Special One has still got it.
Jose Mourinho came back to the ground which he turned into a fortress as Chelsea boss and blew the walls down.
A goalless draw would have been enough to send Inter through to the quarter-finals.
But a clinical 79th-minute finish by Samuel Eto'o made extra sure.
And just to complete Chelsea's misery, Didier Drogba got a straight red card four minutes from time for a foul on Thiago Motta.
Mourinho had claimed in his Press conference that beating Chelsea was not the issue for him and the important thing was Inter making the quarter-finals.
But then he argued the Blues should never have axed him as boss - a point owner Roman Abramovich might be mulling over this morning as his Champions League dream lies in tatters for another season.
Whatever Mourinho's motivation for winning, he wanted it very badly indeed.
With a 2-1 lead from the first leg, Inter had the advantage.
Yet Chelsea were confident of turning the tie round, knowing a 1-0 victory would be enough.
They had to go with their third-choice goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull, because of injuries to Petr Cech and Hilario.
And they were, of course, without broken ankle victim Ashley Cole.
Judging by the speed with which Cole moved through the Press room before kick-off, though, it will not be long before he is back in action - which is good news for club and country.
It was fairly spikey early on, with Eto'o going down after a collision with John Obi Mikel's forearm and various altercations going on around the pitch.
Meanwhile, Michael Ballack was not far away with a 25-yard effort which went inches wide.
This Inter team was like Mourinho's Chelsea of old - strong in the challenge, giving little away and happy to mix it while getting up and down the field in numbers.
Mourinho was prowling his technical area manically, directing operations and complaining at Drogba roughing up his defenders.
The Inter chief was raging on 17 minutes when Goran Pandev was given offside as he broke away on goal.
He went looking for a screen to see a replay and, though he could not find one, his belief that Inter had been robbed seemed vindicated from the TV pictures.
It was scrappy stuff. But Drogba was proving a handful and, when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area, he released a screamer blocked by Brazilian defender Maicon.
Maicon is a brute of a man and was soon rampaging up the other end, with Yuri Zhirkov failing to get in a challenge.
As the cross came in, it cleared home skipper John Terry. That seemed to surprise Eto'o at the far post and his downward header bounced into the ground and over the bar.
It was a let-off for Chelsea, who were not looking comfortable.
Milito was crowded out on the edge of the six-yard box before he could get a shot in and Drogba was having to do an awful lot of work in his own box, heading away corners and getting in tackles.
Yet there was no better first-half tackle than Walter Samuel's, after Chelsea's man-of-the- moment Florent Malouda tricked his way past Lucio and looked set to score before the Argentinian's intervention.
It was all Chelsea now and Motta cleared Nicolas Anelka's effort off the line before the Blues had two penalty shouts.
First Lucio pulled back Branislav Ivanovic and then Samuel rugby-tackled Drogba to the ground and somehow got away with it - much to the bemusement of Carlo Ancelotti.
Eto'o could have finished it off for Inter but up to then was not having a good night.
When he got clear of the struggling Zhirkov, he seemed set to score.
Then, for no apparent reason, he hesitated and momentarily lost control, allowing Turnbull to smother.
The Inter bench was going mad. It was a great chance and they nearly paid double. Malouda went down the left and his shot almost sneaked under Julio Cesar by the near post.
There was some quality defending going on and Zhirkov redeemed himself to foil Pandev with a perfect last-ditch tackle.
Inter went close again, after Terry lost possession and Wesley Sneijder played in Milito, who snatched his left-foot effort wide. Then Motta put a header over the top from Sneijder's free-kick.
These were anxious moments for Chelsea and then suddenly, 11 minutes from time, it was all over.
Eto'o collected a fine ball from Sneijder, got away from Ivanovic and tucked his right-foot shot beyond Turnbull into the corner.
Drogba was then sent off and that completed a depressing night for the Londoners and their boss.
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Mail:
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 (agg 1-3):
Samuel Eto'o strike ensures Jose Mourinho's Stamford Bridge return is special one as Blues dumped out of Europe
By Matt Lawton
As Jose Mourinho said, he continues to win the important ones. The ones that really matter. The special ones, you might say.
He won this one with a performance from Inter Milan that proved he had indeed done his homework. That demonstrated how much he had learnt from the three-and-a-half years he enjoyed here at Stamford Bridge and those seven frame-by-frame examinations of the first leg of this tie at the San Siro.
Mourinho did a number on the Chelsea players he says he still loves as well as the Chelsea manager he has rather less affection for. This was a triumph for tactical brilliance as well as courage and determination.
A victory for a manager who might not always entertain the purists but seems to deliver on his promise of big prizes.
There was no prize on offer on Tuesday night other than a place in the Champions League quarter-finals but for Carlo Ancelotti and his angry, exasperated players the trophy they so desired had nevertheless eluded them.
Why? Because the Italian champions were much the superior side. They were better organised; better on the ball; better in Milan, when they established a 2-1 advantage, and better here again.
In Samuel Eto’o they had their goalscorer and in the brilliant Lucio the perfect answer to Didier Drogba. So brilliant on this occasion that Drogba eventually allowed that temper to get the better of him and received a straight red card for a clash with Thiago Motta in the final few minutes.
While Chelsea lacked their usual fluency, the Italian champions struck a perfect balance between defence and attack.
Walter Samuel, Maicon and Javier Zanetti were immense alongside Lucio; Esteban Cambiasso and Motta terrific in the way they both protected their back four and controlled Chelsea’s midfield.
And alongside Eto’o, who could have had a hat-trick, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev posed a constant threat to Chelsea’s makeshift defence.
Chelsea were disappointing. They might have deserved a penalty when Samuel wrestled Drogba to the ground but this was not one to file away with the cruel luck of their European past.
They froze on Tuesday night, intimidated seemingly by the presence of their former master. Only Florent Malouda really impressed for Chelsea.
It amounted to the nightmare scenario for Ancelotti. The Italian was brought here to repeat what he had done on two occasions at AC Milan and deliver the ultimate prize to Roman Abramovich. Not lose to the petulant Portuguese the Russian eventually got sick of and sacked.
The pressure, we presume, will now be on Ancelotti, such is the madness in the court of Roman.
Never had Ancelotti seen his Chelsea side fail to score at Stamford Bridge but Mourinho has quite a record of his own here and it was his that remained intact. He will say he has never lost to an English side in this stadium, so that remarkable run continues.
Never has Mourinho lost two games on the bounce since he took charge of Inter and at no stage did he look like suffering such a setback in this tense encounter.
Chelsea’s opportunities were limited, their failiure to force a decent save from Julio Cesar a measure of just how disappointing they were.
As Ancelotti admitted afterwards, Inter were always in control and always dangerous on the counter- attack, with Eto’o and Pandev working tirelessly on the flanks.
It took a brave block from John Terry to deny Sneijder, as it did when Maicon stopped Drogba from scoring and Samuel when he did much the same to Malouda.
But the best chance of the opening half fell to Eto’o in the 35th minute when he met a cross from Maicon with a header that really should have hit the target and Mourinho’s men continued to dominate after the break.
Clear with only the inexperienced Ross Turnbull to beat, Eto’o really should have struck when he allowed himself to be tackled by Branislav Ivanovic. As should Pandev and Milito when Yuri Zhirkov produced a perfectly timed tackle to rescue the first situation before Inter’s Argentine forward put his shot wide.
Desperate to see his side score the one goal that could have sent them through to the last eight, Ancelotti first unleashed Joe Cole and then Salomon Kalou from the bench. But it was to no avail.
Inter responded accordingly and then produced the goal that left Chelsea with 12 minutes to score the two in return they needed to force the tie into extra time.
It was classic Eto’o. A goal that was as much about his pace as his finishing ability. First came the burst of acceleration that enabled him to get on to Sneijder’s ball and then the finish that both exploited Terry’s failure to play him offside and Turnbull’s inability to charge down the shot.
The desire to run down the touchline in celebration must have been immense for Mourinho but this being Chelsea, he limited himself to a shake of the fists before then returning to his seat. It was for others to jump for joy. This time anyway.
To end the match as they did — with Drogba getting sent off and Terry berating the referee — was sadly typical of Chelsea. But then they learnt that from the master too.
This time, though, Abramovich had to walk across the pitch to the sound of the visiting fans singing the Special One’s name. As Mourinho could no doubt tell him, Ancelotti might want to watch out.
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Independent:
Eto'o delivers killer blow as Mourinho proves point
Chelsea 0 Internazionale 1 (Internazionale win 3-1 on aggregate)
By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent
There was a surreptitious clenched fist by his side and a short trot down the touchline as the excitement of Samuel Eto'o's winning goal took him out of his seat but Jose Mourinho checked himself just in time.
In fact, as his players ran over to celebrate wildly with Mourinho's staff by the touchline, the coach separated himself from them and, distracted by something trivial on a monumentally important night, he stepped on to the pitch to retrieve a match-day programme that had been thrown on in anger by a Chelsea fan. He passed within a few yards of Carlo Ancelotti but did not look at him.
Not in Mourinho's dreams; not in those dark days at the end of September 2007 when he mulled over the coup that unseated him at Chelsea can he have envisaged a night quite as satisfying as this. The day that he came back to Stamford Bridge and rubbed owner Roman Abramovich's nose in it with one of those textbook Mourinho performances in which his team embodies his own fiendish cunning.
Mourinho disappeared down the tunnel on the final whistle but afterwards he made one thing clear: Inter were the better team and richly deserved to eliminate Chelsea and progress to the Champions League quarter-finals. Not even Ancelotti was prepared to quibble with him on that point.
Mourinho had come back to demonstrate to Abramovich a point that the Portuguese coach made time and again during his years at Chelsea – that the club's success was as much about his leadership as it was about the owner's wealth. There are times when it is hard to take Mourinho seriously – and he is a relentless self-publicist – but last night his point rang true.
From his executive box in the west stand, Abramovich will have seen Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, walk across the pitch to the tunnel and take the adoring applause of his fans after the game. Great coaches have a happy habit of making the wealthy owners of football clubs look good, it is just a case of selecting the right one.
Mourinho did not try anything as predictable as attempting to win this game by holding on to his side's 2-1 lead from San Siro. Instead Inter attacked Chelsea relentlessly and, when they had to, they defended heroically. As a playmaker, Wesley Sneijder was incomparable. Walter Samuel and Lucio dominated in defence and Thiago Motta was a constant irritation for Chelsea.
Too much so for Didier Drogba who, for the third successive year, ended Chelsea's Champions League campaign in trouble with the authorities. In 2008 it was a red card in the final in Moscow; last year it was the rant at the cameras after the semi-final elimination by Barcelona; and last night there was another red card for a stamp on Motta's ankle which the sharp-eyed German referee did not miss.
Drogba is the recently crowned African footballer of the year but Eto'o upstaged him, taking his one major chance of the game in the 78th minute. He ran on to Sneijder's pass, holding off Branislav Ivanovic and beating the rookie goalkeeper Ross Turnbull at his right post. You could hardly say that it was Inter's only chance of the match.
Afterwards Mourinho said he had based his approach to the game on one of the few times a side had come to Stamford Bridge during his time in charge there and held out for a draw. Unusually, he picked out the performance of Manchester City in February 2005 during his first year at the club when City came to Stamford Bridge and got a 0-0 draw. "They made David James look like Lev Yashin," said Mourinho.
Last night he adopted the same approach, attacking Chelsea from the off. He attacked down the left, targeting Yuri Zhirkov with the full-back Maicon. At times Inter lived extremely dangerously, especially on corners when Samuel and Motta wrestled with the likes of Drogba and Ivanovic right under the referee's nose.
Naturally, Chelsea felt hard done by but there was no injustice here – not like against Barcelona last season – they were simply outplayed. There were decisions that Inter could complain about too, like the offside against Diego Milito in the first half when replays showed he was onside. Nevertheless, at the end John Terry went to remonstrate with Wolfgang Stark, literally shoving away John Obi Mikel when he tried to shake the referee's hand.
There were crucial tackles from Maicon and Samuel in the first half, both of whom threw themselves in front of shots in the latter stages that looked goalbound. In Chelsea's best period, at the end of the first half, goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved on 42 minutes when Nicolas Anelka had taken Drogba's ball from the left on his chest and bore down on goal.
Mourinho's players did not just stifle Chelsea tactically but they picked away at their tempers too, especially that of Drogba. They are a much more refined, tougher, savvier team than the one that crashed out against Manchester United last season. They are far more cynical too and in Eto'o and Goran Pandev they have two players whom Mourinho deployed wide to great effect.
When Samuel collapsed in the area with his arms around Drogba in the 44th minute there was an angry exchange of words between the two benches. Even Ray Wilkins, who is scarcely the finger-jabbing type, was involved in a row with a counterpart on the opposite side.
There were some good moments from Chelsea, among them the way in which Florent Malouda started the second half which suggested that he might be capable of winning the game. But Inter responded with what Mourinho described as an "almost perfect performance", adding: "We knew that if you don't control the game by having the ball you have no chance."
Ancelotti brought on Joe Cole after the hour for Michael Ballack. Sadly, the Englishman just looks miles off the pace. There were chances for Milito and Pandev, and Motta put a back post header over the bar. When at last Eto'o ran on to Sneijder's pass and scored Chelsea could not say that they had not seen it coming.
As he promised, Mourinho did not celebrate the Inter goal but, given the scope of his team's performance, it must have been a struggle.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Turnbull; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Zhirkov (Kalou, 73); Ballack (J Cole, 62), Mikel, Lampard; Anelka, Drogba, Malouda. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Carvalho, Sturridge, Belletti, Bruma.
Inter Milan (4-3-3): Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Zanetti; Cambiasso, Sneijder (Mariga, 85), Motta (Materazzi, 90); Pandev (Stankovic, 75), Eto'o, Milito. Substitutes not used: Toldo (gk), Cordoba, Quaresma, Santon.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
Man-for-man marking, by Steve Tongue
Chelsea
Ross Turnbull Must have been relieved not to have more to do in third Chelsea game. 7/10
Branislav Ivanovic Poor marking allowed Eto'o first-half chance and then the goal. 4
Alex Seemed to be controlling forwards well. Guilty of some poor distribution. 6
John Terry Solid with foot and head but caught out badly for goal. 6
Yuri Zhirkov Found Maicon a handful running at him and could not best him at other end. 6
Michael Ballack Is right of midfield his best position? Unable to influence game. 5
John Obi Mikel Did well breaking up attacks in first half but was overshadowed by Sneijder. 7
Frank Lampard A long time since he dominated a game. Unable to get on the end of anything. 5
Nicolas Anelka Not much joy out on the right and disappeared in second half. 5
Didier Drogba Forgettable night against the twin towers of Lucio and Samuel, culminating in red card. 6
Florent Malouda Found it all rather harder than playing West Ham at the weekend. Ended up at left-back. 6
Substitutes
Joe Cole Little chance. 6
Salomon Kalou Lively. 7
Internazionale
Julio Cesar Quiet first 40 minutes, then given some work which he did well. 7/10
Maicon Powerful in defence, with one terrific block, and caused problems going forward. 8
Lucio Enjoyed physical battle with Drogba and came out of it well. Booked. 7
Walter Samuel Helped Lucio deal with Drogba. One great challenge on Malouda to prevent a goal. 7
Javier Zanetti The captain kept Anelka quiet and organised his troops well. 6
Esteban Cambiasso Effective barrier in front of back four, allowing Chelsea few chances. 7
Wesley Sneijder A constant threat behind the front three with his passing and from set pieces. 8
Thiago Motta Tall midfielder covered up tidily and almost scored with header. Booked and misses next game. 6
Goran Pandev Did not justify surprise selection out on the left and soon made way. 4
Samuel Eto'o Wasted a good headed opportunity but then took his chance splendidly. Booked. 7
Diego Milito Fought hard but found Terry a difficult obstacle and missed a good chance when escaping. 6
Substitutes
Dejan Stankovic 6
Macdonald Mariga 6
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Guardian:
Chelsea crash out after Inter win in Champions League
Chelsea 0 Internazionale 1 Eto'o 78
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
José Mourinho returned to make one last mark on Chelsea's history. It is, to be precise, an ugly blot in the annals of the club. Internazionale ensured that they would be eliminated from the Champions League as early as the last 16 for the first time since 2006. The Portuguese has probably done even more profound harm to his old employers.
Chelsea disintegrated and Didier Drogba was sent off in the 87th minute when the referee, Wolfgang Stark, ruled that the Ivorian had stamped deliberately on Thiago Motta. There are greater issues than that to absorb the losers. The manager, Carlo Ancelotti, must sense some players are succumbing to wear and tear while othersare not cut out for this level. He might even have flinched when the visiting fans sang "Bye bye Carletto" at full-time.
When Premier League sensibilities are laid aside, there should be gladness that Inter performed with such focus. Europe's leading tournament badly needs to be enhanced again by the accomplishment once taken for granted and dreaded in Serie A sides. Fiorentina, let it be recalled, had already edged out Liverpool in the group phase.
Mourinho was victorious in every aspect. His system, with three forwards supported by the excellent Wesley Sneijder had Chelsea in distress. Inter also got back in numbers to deny the Stamford Bridge side any rhythm. With a 2-1 lead from San Siro, they did not even look as if they felt another goal was essential.
Just to make sure, they scored in any case. Sneijder released Samuel Eto'o 12 minutes from the end and the striker went clear of Branislav Ivanovic to shoot precisely beyond the right hand of the goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull. The Dutchman who devised that opportunity had an imagination and touch denied just about everyone else on the pitch, particularly those in Chelsea colours.
With Ancelotti's side still well placed in the Premier League, desolation ought not to engulf the club. It is more likely that a gnawing anxiety will be felt over the urgency of rebuilding for seasons ahead.
The side barely constituted a nuisance to Inter. Mourinho's position at Stamford Bridge had become untenable in the early autumn of 2007 because his pragmatic and almost world-weary style was no longer acceptable to the owner, Roman Abramovich. He is unlikely to have undergone a profound change of heart since then but is too shrewd not to know when boldness will pay dividends.
Mourinho observed afterwards that the selection of Ivanovic and Yuri Zhirkov, who are makeshift full-backs because of injuries to others, made it certain that Inter would put the emphasis on attack.That adventurousness brought about stalemate in the first half. Chelsea were not sufficiently imaginative and Inter were initially patient. Even then Maicon, the Brazil right-back, was at ease and could get involved in the kind of build-up that saw him link with Eto'o after 33 minutes, with Michael Ballack having to cover Diego Milito as the ball was pulled back into the centre.
Ancelotti, despite having many of Mourinho's men still in the squad, is supposed to show that his outlook is fundamentally more enterprising. However, he is also charged with putting paid to visitors of this calibre. Following this defeat the scale of that task will be wholly apparent to the Chelsea manager.
There will be broad awareness now that neither the panache nor the durability exists to deal with this kind of ordeal. It will suit Mourinho's vanity to know that unflattering comparisons will be made with his spell at Chelsea. That tenure was far more than a period of well-executed tedium.
After all, victories tend to require risk and imagination at some point. At his peak with Chelsea, Mourinho had Arjen Robben and Damien Duff to devastate the opposition and delight the crowd. His timing was good, too, since those were the days when the Chelsea enterprise enraptured Abramovich and inspired him to unleash his wealth spectacularly.
Nowadays such means are not apparent even at Inter but Mourinho's summer dealings did bring more style to the Serie A club. When the side was removed by English opposition at this juncture in each of the previous two seasons, they did not score a goal against Liverpool or Manchester United. The determination to break with that sterility has now prevailed and the evolution had been visible in Inter's first-leg win. And it was Mourinho's scheme to put the opposition on edge with his trio of attackers at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had trouble achieving fluency, particularly when there was so much difficulty in making an impact on the flanks. There was a messiness even to the complaints. Heated appeals broke out at set pieces when, for example, Walter Samuel had his arms round Drogba. Those are offences, yet it is rare for a referee to grant a penalty when it is tough for him to know who initiated this commonplace grappling.
All the same, everyone will be entirely clear that Chelsea never had a firm grip of Inter.
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Mourinho makes triumphant return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea crash out
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 (Inter win 3-1 on agg)
Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent
Of all the many traits that José Mourinho instilled in his Chelsea teams, the only one to rear its head last night was the persecution complex.
Once again John Terry et al found themselves venting anger at the match officials as they departed the Champions League stage, but this time any talk of a Uefa refereeing conspiracy should give way to some serious self-examination.
There will be recriminations over the red card shown to Didier Drogba, for an apparent stamp on Thiago Motta with three minutes remaining, and over a strong Chelsea penalty appeal that was rejected in either leg, but do not let Terry or anyone else say that they were robbed over two fast and furious legs. Quite simply, they were beaten by a better team.
A better team or simply a better organised, better drilled team? Either way, it reflects well on Mourinho and rather less so on Carlo Ancelotti, his latest successor in the Chelsea dugout. As Chelsea’s players looked to the touchline for inspiration in the second half, they saw Mourinho gesticulating wildly and Ancelotti looking, well, a little forlorn. We must get away from this unhealthy idea that touchline demeanour is an indicator of managerial ability, but for as long as Terry, Drogba, Frank Lampard and the rest remain in thrall to Mourinho, comparisons, while odorous, are inevitable.
Ancelotti could well lead Chelsea to the Barclays Premier League title and the FA Cup this season, but this was not a good night for him. Even if Inter’s supporters were almost certainly guilty of wishful thinking as they serenaded the AC Milan legend with lusty chants of “Bye bye Carletto” towards the end of the game — and repeated that message when Roman Abramovich made the long, lonely walk across the pitch towards the dressing-room area afterwards — Ancelotti will reflect on this as the most chastening night of his first season at Stamford Bridge.
It was also a night when Inter gave a reminder that there is still life in Serie A. Italian clubs have fared miserably against their Premier League counterparts in the Champions League over the past couple of seasons — most recently AC Milan’s wretched capitulation at Old Trafford a week ago — but Inter performed here with silk as well as steel, the former provided almost exclusively by Wesley Sneijder and the latter supplied by redoubtable figures such as Lúcio, Walter Samuel, Thiago Motta and Esteban Cambiasso, four players who conform to Mourinho’s requirement for his teams to have a strong, unyielding spine.
It was Sneijder, inevitably, who set up the only goal of the night with 11 minutes left as he produced the third in a series of defence-splitting passes, to send Samuel Eto’o clear for an opportunity that, after his earlier profligacy, he did not dare to miss. Chelsea’s players looked to the assistant referee for an offside flag, but Alex, who had a difficult evening alongside Terry in central defence, had clearly played Eto’o onside.
Sneijder is a wonderful talent but he could hardly have imagined that he would find as much space as this in the cramped confines of Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea still had a player in the Claude Makelele mould to patrol the area in front of their back four, it would have been a different story, but John Obi Mikel has nothing of the great Frenchman’s discipline or tactical nous.
Mourinho made the rather gratuitous point afterwards that Branislav Ivanovic and Yuri Zhirkov — two of the four players in the Chelsea starting line-up whom he had not bought — had been weak links, but Ancelotti’s team were poor in every department. With the exception of Florent Malouda, they simply did not perform.
There was a five-minute spell either side of half-time when Chelsea banged on the door repeatedly but, with Inter defending resolutely, it was not enough. When Malouda danced inside two challenges in the penalty area just before half-time, Samuel appeared from nowhere to take the ball off his toe. When Drogba sent Nicolas Anelka through moments later, Samuel repeated the trick. When Drogba finally escaped the attentions of Samuel with a twisting run early in the second half, Lúcio was there to snuff out the danger. And when Malouda fizzed a low shot through a crowd, Júlio César, Inter’s excellent but largely untested goalkeeper, pushed the ball around a post.
Ancelotti, his desperation growing, sent on Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou as he looked for something different, but neither player made the slightest impact. If anything, the changes played into Mourinho’s hands as Sneijder found even more space in midfield.
The momentum was firmly with Inter and, after Sneijder set up Eto’o and Diego Milito in quick succession, with the unfairly maligned Zhirkov making the recovery tackle on each occasion, Milito struck another opportunity wide, Mourinho’s blood pressure seemed to soar on the touchline.
He need not have worried. Sneijder split the home defence again and Eto’o ran clear, this time finally beating Ross Turnbull, Chelsea’s third-choice goalkeeper.
Mourinho reacted by pumping his fist very discreetly, the Tim Henman of celebrations, and, being the shrinking violet that he is, proceeded to watch the final minutes of the game from the privacy of the players’ tunnel, away from the television cameras.
And let us end at the start of the evening, when Mourinho appeared on the touchline pre-match to a soundtrack of the Rainbow classic Since You’ve Been Gone. The next line goes “I’m outta my head, can’t take it”, swiftly followed by “You cast the spell, so break it”. The concern for everyone at Stamford Bridge is that Mourinho’s spell, far from being broken, has been reinforced. And if you think that Terry and his team-mates will not be pining for Mourinho this morning, it is to underestimate the extent to which he remains, in their eyes, the Special One.
Chelsea (4-3-3): R Turnbull — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, Y Zhirkov (sub: S Kalou, 73min) — M Ballack (sub: J Cole, 63), J O Mikel, F Lampard — N Anelka, D Drogba, F Malouda. Substitutes not used: R Taylor, R Carvalho, J Belletti, J Bruma, D Sturridge. Booked: Malouda, Drogba, Alex, Terry. Sent off: Drogba.
Inter Milan (4-2-1-3): Júlio César — Maicon, Lúcio, W Samuel, J Zanetti — E Cambiasso, T Motta (sub: M Materazzi, 90) — W Sneijder (sub: M Mariga, 85) — S Eto’o, D Milito, G Pandev (sub: D Stankovic, 74). Substitutes not used: F Toldo, I Córdoba, D Santon, R Quaresma. Booked: Eto’o, Motta, Lúcio, Júlio César.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
Slaps in face of respect
Didier Drogba departed the Champions League in ignominy for the third successive season last night 2008 Final, Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1 (United win 6-5 on pens): Drogba is sent off in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic.
2009 Semi-final, Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 (1-1 on agg; Barcelona win on away goals rule): Refereeing decisions prompt striker to shout at a TV camera: “It’s a f***ing disgrace.”
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Still the Special One. Still the king of Stamford Bridge. Still the tactical grand master. Jose Mourinho, Inter’s inspiration, orchestrated Chelsea’s first home defeat in the Champions League in 22 games, sending his old club crashing out of the competition that Carlo Ancelotti was so expensively brought in to win.
So the mistake Roman Abramovich made in falling out with Mourinho in 2007 came back to haunt him. The Portuguese had hinted beforehand that he would not celebrate any Inter goal out of respect for his former employers but he couldn’t resist it.
Mourinho marked Samuel Eto’o’s fine late strike with a few steps down the touchline before remembering his promise, heading back to the dug-out, still scarcely able to conceal his delight. He knew that Inter were superior in all departments: their defence was mobile defiance personified, their midfield a winning mix of passing and tackling while their four-man attack never gave Chelsea’s back-line a moment’s peace.
Sadly, shamefully, the game ended in even greater humiliation for Chelsea. Didier Drogba, having tangled with Thiago Motta, who went down as if shot, was dismissed, echoing his embarrassing exit last season. Suddenly it was England-Argentina as John Terry and Javier Zanetti exchanged unpleasantries.
As tempers flared all over the place, as Dejan Stankovic could have followed Drogba for a challenge on Alex, some of the Chelsea supporters around the away dug-out suggested exactly where they felt Mourinho should go. He headed for the tunnel, taking a famous, familiar scalp with him.
Mourinho had sprung a surprise, sending out his strong, athletic Inter side in 4-2-3-1 formation. His intentions had been clear: going for the jugular, going for the away goal with Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder and the left-sided Goran Pandev supporting the frontrunning Diego Milito.
In a tense match crammed with compelling duels, Inter started at top speed, looking to test Ross Turnbull, Chelsea’s inexperienced but promising keeper. Maicon, showing his ambitions with an early shot, enjoyed a buccaneering opening half down the right, Chelsea never found their stride in the first half.
Florent Malouda wriggled into the box only to be thwarted. Michael Ballack, needing a big game but not delivering and removed on the hour, fired wide. Nerves jangled like alarm bells. Chelsea, needing to score, knew they were in a real scrap, both physical and tactical.
With the stakes so high, tempers rose high as well. Lucio’s foot was certainly high on Malouda. Eto’o then pushed Ballack. Eto’o was enraging Chelsea fans, partly with his angry hornet impression and partly with his play-acting. Such was the tumbling Cameroonian’s eagerness to inspect the Bridge lawn closely that an invitation to the Chelsea Flower Show surely awaits.
Eto’o was eventually booked for dissent and could have walked when, waving an imaginary card, attempted to get Alex cautioned. Inter’s appliance of the dark arts and sciences was rampant at times, particularly at defending corners. Thiago Motta hauled down Branislav Ivanovic. Then Walter Samuel wrestled Didier Drogba over. So obvious, so outrageous, so ignored.
Sadly for Chelsea, the German referee, Wolfgang Stark, haughtily waved play on. It must have all been deeply confusing for Malouda as he ran in to deliver his corners; familiar faces kept disappearing in the box.
Frustration and fear ate away at Chelsea in the first half. Maicon again threatened, lifting a ball down the right for Eto’o to chase. John Terry, spotting the danger quickly, darted smartly across to clear.
Sneijder’s corners coaxed more sweatbeads from Chelsea foreheads. Fortunately for the hosts, Drogba demonstrated his defensive power, repelling one of Sneijder’s specials. Inter’s Dutchman then crashed a free-kick into the wall after Alex had sneakily blocked off an Eto’o run.
Still Inter menaced. When Maicon hoisted in a great cross from the right, Terry misjudged its flight pattern, allowing it through to Eto’o. The miscalculations continued, Eto’o heading down and over.
Increasingly aware of time’s unforgiving passage, Chelsea stepped up a gear, finishing the half promisingly. Alex swept a free-kick over. Nicolas Anelka began buzzing down the inside-right channel. Drogba started to break free of Lucio’s shackles.
Mourinho was living every moment with his team, willing them to make every tackle, every header, every clearance. Some of Stark’s decisions set the Special One off on the road to meltdown, Inter’s coach remonstrating with the fourth official when Chelsea were ludicrously awarded a corner after the ball had come off Drogba. Mourinho, warmly greeted by the Bridge at first, earned a brief flurry of catcalls when comically refusing to give the ball to Yuri Zhirkov, who was seeking to take a quick throw-in. Russians and Mourinho, Part 245.
Still Chelsea built. Still Inter blocked. Malouda teased the ball through but was brilliantly dispossessed by Samuel, the obdurate centre-half aptly nicknamed The Wall. When Drogba then chipped a perfect pass on to the chest of Anelka, Samuel and Julio Cesar combined to slam shut any window of opportunity.
The half concluded with Lampard bursting through, losing possession but earning a tirade from Samuel, who accused the England international of diving. Nonsense.
Still the visitors’ gamesmanship continued. Inter arrived late for the second half. When it did, Thiago Motta promptly body-checked Malouda. The ensuing free-kick was badly wasted by Drogba, whose 25-yarder dribbled through towards an untroubled Julio Cesar.
Lifting Chelsea’s spirits, Malouda was beginning to influence proceedings. After a brief moment of concern when Sneijder superbly released Eto’o and Turnbull rushed out to collect, Chelsea stormed through the gears, Malouda bringing a magnificent low save from Julio Cesar.
Brimming with intelligence and growing counter-attacking class, Inter should have wrapped the tie up midway through the second half. Zhirkov rescued Chelsea as Pandev was about to shoot. Then Sneijder seized on poor control by Terry to chip the ball over Chelsea’s ragged defence. Milito ran through but placed his shot wide. Bad miss.
Inter had the edge, Chelsea the edginess. Sensing the hosts’ apprehension, Mourinho’s men broke time and again on the counter. Some of their passing was immaculate, one pass from Esteban Cambiasso to Maicon was exquisite.
Ancelotti was ringing the changes, withdrawing the anonymous Ballack for Joe Cole and then sending on Salomon Kalou for Zhirkov. Kalou brought immediate pace and purpose, pleading vainfully for a penalty after a speedy break into the box.
Pushed forward, Chelsea were knocked out by a brilliant counter-punch. When Sneijder lifted a pass towards Eto’o, his response was majestic, the ball drilled right footed past Turnbull.
Chelsea were devastated. Mourinho ruled the Bridge. Again.
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Sun:
Chelsea 0 Inter 1
SHAUN CUSTIS at Stamford Bridge
WELL, we did not really expect him to lose did we? The Special One has still got it.
Jose Mourinho came back to the ground which he turned into a fortress as Chelsea boss and blew the walls down.
A goalless draw would have been enough to send Inter through to the quarter-finals.
But a clinical 79th-minute finish by Samuel Eto'o made extra sure.
And just to complete Chelsea's misery, Didier Drogba got a straight red card four minutes from time for a foul on Thiago Motta.
Mourinho had claimed in his Press conference that beating Chelsea was not the issue for him and the important thing was Inter making the quarter-finals.
But then he argued the Blues should never have axed him as boss - a point owner Roman Abramovich might be mulling over this morning as his Champions League dream lies in tatters for another season.
Whatever Mourinho's motivation for winning, he wanted it very badly indeed.
With a 2-1 lead from the first leg, Inter had the advantage.
Yet Chelsea were confident of turning the tie round, knowing a 1-0 victory would be enough.
They had to go with their third-choice goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull, because of injuries to Petr Cech and Hilario.
And they were, of course, without broken ankle victim Ashley Cole.
Judging by the speed with which Cole moved through the Press room before kick-off, though, it will not be long before he is back in action - which is good news for club and country.
It was fairly spikey early on, with Eto'o going down after a collision with John Obi Mikel's forearm and various altercations going on around the pitch.
Meanwhile, Michael Ballack was not far away with a 25-yard effort which went inches wide.
This Inter team was like Mourinho's Chelsea of old - strong in the challenge, giving little away and happy to mix it while getting up and down the field in numbers.
Mourinho was prowling his technical area manically, directing operations and complaining at Drogba roughing up his defenders.
The Inter chief was raging on 17 minutes when Goran Pandev was given offside as he broke away on goal.
He went looking for a screen to see a replay and, though he could not find one, his belief that Inter had been robbed seemed vindicated from the TV pictures.
It was scrappy stuff. But Drogba was proving a handful and, when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area, he released a screamer blocked by Brazilian defender Maicon.
Maicon is a brute of a man and was soon rampaging up the other end, with Yuri Zhirkov failing to get in a challenge.
As the cross came in, it cleared home skipper John Terry. That seemed to surprise Eto'o at the far post and his downward header bounced into the ground and over the bar.
It was a let-off for Chelsea, who were not looking comfortable.
Milito was crowded out on the edge of the six-yard box before he could get a shot in and Drogba was having to do an awful lot of work in his own box, heading away corners and getting in tackles.
Yet there was no better first-half tackle than Walter Samuel's, after Chelsea's man-of-the- moment Florent Malouda tricked his way past Lucio and looked set to score before the Argentinian's intervention.
It was all Chelsea now and Motta cleared Nicolas Anelka's effort off the line before the Blues had two penalty shouts.
First Lucio pulled back Branislav Ivanovic and then Samuel rugby-tackled Drogba to the ground and somehow got away with it - much to the bemusement of Carlo Ancelotti.
Eto'o could have finished it off for Inter but up to then was not having a good night.
When he got clear of the struggling Zhirkov, he seemed set to score.
Then, for no apparent reason, he hesitated and momentarily lost control, allowing Turnbull to smother.
The Inter bench was going mad. It was a great chance and they nearly paid double. Malouda went down the left and his shot almost sneaked under Julio Cesar by the near post.
There was some quality defending going on and Zhirkov redeemed himself to foil Pandev with a perfect last-ditch tackle.
Inter went close again, after Terry lost possession and Wesley Sneijder played in Milito, who snatched his left-foot effort wide. Then Motta put a header over the top from Sneijder's free-kick.
These were anxious moments for Chelsea and then suddenly, 11 minutes from time, it was all over.
Eto'o collected a fine ball from Sneijder, got away from Ivanovic and tucked his right-foot shot beyond Turnbull into the corner.
Drogba was then sent off and that completed a depressing night for the Londoners and their boss.
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Mail:
Chelsea 0 Inter Milan 1 (agg 1-3):
Samuel Eto'o strike ensures Jose Mourinho's Stamford Bridge return is special one as Blues dumped out of Europe
By Matt Lawton
As Jose Mourinho said, he continues to win the important ones. The ones that really matter. The special ones, you might say.
He won this one with a performance from Inter Milan that proved he had indeed done his homework. That demonstrated how much he had learnt from the three-and-a-half years he enjoyed here at Stamford Bridge and those seven frame-by-frame examinations of the first leg of this tie at the San Siro.
Mourinho did a number on the Chelsea players he says he still loves as well as the Chelsea manager he has rather less affection for. This was a triumph for tactical brilliance as well as courage and determination.
A victory for a manager who might not always entertain the purists but seems to deliver on his promise of big prizes.
There was no prize on offer on Tuesday night other than a place in the Champions League quarter-finals but for Carlo Ancelotti and his angry, exasperated players the trophy they so desired had nevertheless eluded them.
Why? Because the Italian champions were much the superior side. They were better organised; better on the ball; better in Milan, when they established a 2-1 advantage, and better here again.
In Samuel Eto’o they had their goalscorer and in the brilliant Lucio the perfect answer to Didier Drogba. So brilliant on this occasion that Drogba eventually allowed that temper to get the better of him and received a straight red card for a clash with Thiago Motta in the final few minutes.
While Chelsea lacked their usual fluency, the Italian champions struck a perfect balance between defence and attack.
Walter Samuel, Maicon and Javier Zanetti were immense alongside Lucio; Esteban Cambiasso and Motta terrific in the way they both protected their back four and controlled Chelsea’s midfield.
And alongside Eto’o, who could have had a hat-trick, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev posed a constant threat to Chelsea’s makeshift defence.
Chelsea were disappointing. They might have deserved a penalty when Samuel wrestled Drogba to the ground but this was not one to file away with the cruel luck of their European past.
They froze on Tuesday night, intimidated seemingly by the presence of their former master. Only Florent Malouda really impressed for Chelsea.
It amounted to the nightmare scenario for Ancelotti. The Italian was brought here to repeat what he had done on two occasions at AC Milan and deliver the ultimate prize to Roman Abramovich. Not lose to the petulant Portuguese the Russian eventually got sick of and sacked.
The pressure, we presume, will now be on Ancelotti, such is the madness in the court of Roman.
Never had Ancelotti seen his Chelsea side fail to score at Stamford Bridge but Mourinho has quite a record of his own here and it was his that remained intact. He will say he has never lost to an English side in this stadium, so that remarkable run continues.
Never has Mourinho lost two games on the bounce since he took charge of Inter and at no stage did he look like suffering such a setback in this tense encounter.
Chelsea’s opportunities were limited, their failiure to force a decent save from Julio Cesar a measure of just how disappointing they were.
As Ancelotti admitted afterwards, Inter were always in control and always dangerous on the counter- attack, with Eto’o and Pandev working tirelessly on the flanks.
It took a brave block from John Terry to deny Sneijder, as it did when Maicon stopped Drogba from scoring and Samuel when he did much the same to Malouda.
But the best chance of the opening half fell to Eto’o in the 35th minute when he met a cross from Maicon with a header that really should have hit the target and Mourinho’s men continued to dominate after the break.
Clear with only the inexperienced Ross Turnbull to beat, Eto’o really should have struck when he allowed himself to be tackled by Branislav Ivanovic. As should Pandev and Milito when Yuri Zhirkov produced a perfectly timed tackle to rescue the first situation before Inter’s Argentine forward put his shot wide.
Desperate to see his side score the one goal that could have sent them through to the last eight, Ancelotti first unleashed Joe Cole and then Salomon Kalou from the bench. But it was to no avail.
Inter responded accordingly and then produced the goal that left Chelsea with 12 minutes to score the two in return they needed to force the tie into extra time.
It was classic Eto’o. A goal that was as much about his pace as his finishing ability. First came the burst of acceleration that enabled him to get on to Sneijder’s ball and then the finish that both exploited Terry’s failure to play him offside and Turnbull’s inability to charge down the shot.
The desire to run down the touchline in celebration must have been immense for Mourinho but this being Chelsea, he limited himself to a shake of the fists before then returning to his seat. It was for others to jump for joy. This time anyway.
To end the match as they did — with Drogba getting sent off and Terry berating the referee — was sadly typical of Chelsea. But then they learnt that from the master too.
This time, though, Abramovich had to walk across the pitch to the sound of the visiting fans singing the Special One’s name. As Mourinho could no doubt tell him, Ancelotti might want to watch out.
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Independent:
Eto'o delivers killer blow as Mourinho proves point
Chelsea 0 Internazionale 1 (Internazionale win 3-1 on aggregate)
By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent
There was a surreptitious clenched fist by his side and a short trot down the touchline as the excitement of Samuel Eto'o's winning goal took him out of his seat but Jose Mourinho checked himself just in time.
In fact, as his players ran over to celebrate wildly with Mourinho's staff by the touchline, the coach separated himself from them and, distracted by something trivial on a monumentally important night, he stepped on to the pitch to retrieve a match-day programme that had been thrown on in anger by a Chelsea fan. He passed within a few yards of Carlo Ancelotti but did not look at him.
Not in Mourinho's dreams; not in those dark days at the end of September 2007 when he mulled over the coup that unseated him at Chelsea can he have envisaged a night quite as satisfying as this. The day that he came back to Stamford Bridge and rubbed owner Roman Abramovich's nose in it with one of those textbook Mourinho performances in which his team embodies his own fiendish cunning.
Mourinho disappeared down the tunnel on the final whistle but afterwards he made one thing clear: Inter were the better team and richly deserved to eliminate Chelsea and progress to the Champions League quarter-finals. Not even Ancelotti was prepared to quibble with him on that point.
Mourinho had come back to demonstrate to Abramovich a point that the Portuguese coach made time and again during his years at Chelsea – that the club's success was as much about his leadership as it was about the owner's wealth. There are times when it is hard to take Mourinho seriously – and he is a relentless self-publicist – but last night his point rang true.
From his executive box in the west stand, Abramovich will have seen Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, walk across the pitch to the tunnel and take the adoring applause of his fans after the game. Great coaches have a happy habit of making the wealthy owners of football clubs look good, it is just a case of selecting the right one.
Mourinho did not try anything as predictable as attempting to win this game by holding on to his side's 2-1 lead from San Siro. Instead Inter attacked Chelsea relentlessly and, when they had to, they defended heroically. As a playmaker, Wesley Sneijder was incomparable. Walter Samuel and Lucio dominated in defence and Thiago Motta was a constant irritation for Chelsea.
Too much so for Didier Drogba who, for the third successive year, ended Chelsea's Champions League campaign in trouble with the authorities. In 2008 it was a red card in the final in Moscow; last year it was the rant at the cameras after the semi-final elimination by Barcelona; and last night there was another red card for a stamp on Motta's ankle which the sharp-eyed German referee did not miss.
Drogba is the recently crowned African footballer of the year but Eto'o upstaged him, taking his one major chance of the game in the 78th minute. He ran on to Sneijder's pass, holding off Branislav Ivanovic and beating the rookie goalkeeper Ross Turnbull at his right post. You could hardly say that it was Inter's only chance of the match.
Afterwards Mourinho said he had based his approach to the game on one of the few times a side had come to Stamford Bridge during his time in charge there and held out for a draw. Unusually, he picked out the performance of Manchester City in February 2005 during his first year at the club when City came to Stamford Bridge and got a 0-0 draw. "They made David James look like Lev Yashin," said Mourinho.
Last night he adopted the same approach, attacking Chelsea from the off. He attacked down the left, targeting Yuri Zhirkov with the full-back Maicon. At times Inter lived extremely dangerously, especially on corners when Samuel and Motta wrestled with the likes of Drogba and Ivanovic right under the referee's nose.
Naturally, Chelsea felt hard done by but there was no injustice here – not like against Barcelona last season – they were simply outplayed. There were decisions that Inter could complain about too, like the offside against Diego Milito in the first half when replays showed he was onside. Nevertheless, at the end John Terry went to remonstrate with Wolfgang Stark, literally shoving away John Obi Mikel when he tried to shake the referee's hand.
There were crucial tackles from Maicon and Samuel in the first half, both of whom threw themselves in front of shots in the latter stages that looked goalbound. In Chelsea's best period, at the end of the first half, goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved on 42 minutes when Nicolas Anelka had taken Drogba's ball from the left on his chest and bore down on goal.
Mourinho's players did not just stifle Chelsea tactically but they picked away at their tempers too, especially that of Drogba. They are a much more refined, tougher, savvier team than the one that crashed out against Manchester United last season. They are far more cynical too and in Eto'o and Goran Pandev they have two players whom Mourinho deployed wide to great effect.
When Samuel collapsed in the area with his arms around Drogba in the 44th minute there was an angry exchange of words between the two benches. Even Ray Wilkins, who is scarcely the finger-jabbing type, was involved in a row with a counterpart on the opposite side.
There were some good moments from Chelsea, among them the way in which Florent Malouda started the second half which suggested that he might be capable of winning the game. But Inter responded with what Mourinho described as an "almost perfect performance", adding: "We knew that if you don't control the game by having the ball you have no chance."
Ancelotti brought on Joe Cole after the hour for Michael Ballack. Sadly, the Englishman just looks miles off the pace. There were chances for Milito and Pandev, and Motta put a back post header over the bar. When at last Eto'o ran on to Sneijder's pass and scored Chelsea could not say that they had not seen it coming.
As he promised, Mourinho did not celebrate the Inter goal but, given the scope of his team's performance, it must have been a struggle.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Turnbull; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Zhirkov (Kalou, 73); Ballack (J Cole, 62), Mikel, Lampard; Anelka, Drogba, Malouda. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Carvalho, Sturridge, Belletti, Bruma.
Inter Milan (4-3-3): Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Zanetti; Cambiasso, Sneijder (Mariga, 85), Motta (Materazzi, 90); Pandev (Stankovic, 75), Eto'o, Milito. Substitutes not used: Toldo (gk), Cordoba, Quaresma, Santon.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
Man-for-man marking, by Steve Tongue
Chelsea
Ross Turnbull Must have been relieved not to have more to do in third Chelsea game. 7/10
Branislav Ivanovic Poor marking allowed Eto'o first-half chance and then the goal. 4
Alex Seemed to be controlling forwards well. Guilty of some poor distribution. 6
John Terry Solid with foot and head but caught out badly for goal. 6
Yuri Zhirkov Found Maicon a handful running at him and could not best him at other end. 6
Michael Ballack Is right of midfield his best position? Unable to influence game. 5
John Obi Mikel Did well breaking up attacks in first half but was overshadowed by Sneijder. 7
Frank Lampard A long time since he dominated a game. Unable to get on the end of anything. 5
Nicolas Anelka Not much joy out on the right and disappeared in second half. 5
Didier Drogba Forgettable night against the twin towers of Lucio and Samuel, culminating in red card. 6
Florent Malouda Found it all rather harder than playing West Ham at the weekend. Ended up at left-back. 6
Substitutes
Joe Cole Little chance. 6
Salomon Kalou Lively. 7
Internazionale
Julio Cesar Quiet first 40 minutes, then given some work which he did well. 7/10
Maicon Powerful in defence, with one terrific block, and caused problems going forward. 8
Lucio Enjoyed physical battle with Drogba and came out of it well. Booked. 7
Walter Samuel Helped Lucio deal with Drogba. One great challenge on Malouda to prevent a goal. 7
Javier Zanetti The captain kept Anelka quiet and organised his troops well. 6
Esteban Cambiasso Effective barrier in front of back four, allowing Chelsea few chances. 7
Wesley Sneijder A constant threat behind the front three with his passing and from set pieces. 8
Thiago Motta Tall midfielder covered up tidily and almost scored with header. Booked and misses next game. 6
Goran Pandev Did not justify surprise selection out on the left and soon made way. 4
Samuel Eto'o Wasted a good headed opportunity but then took his chance splendidly. Booked. 7
Diego Milito Fought hard but found Terry a difficult obstacle and missed a good chance when escaping. 6
Substitutes
Dejan Stankovic 6
Macdonald Mariga 6
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Guardian:
Chelsea crash out after Inter win in Champions League
Chelsea 0 Internazionale 1 Eto'o 78
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
José Mourinho returned to make one last mark on Chelsea's history. It is, to be precise, an ugly blot in the annals of the club. Internazionale ensured that they would be eliminated from the Champions League as early as the last 16 for the first time since 2006. The Portuguese has probably done even more profound harm to his old employers.
Chelsea disintegrated and Didier Drogba was sent off in the 87th minute when the referee, Wolfgang Stark, ruled that the Ivorian had stamped deliberately on Thiago Motta. There are greater issues than that to absorb the losers. The manager, Carlo Ancelotti, must sense some players are succumbing to wear and tear while othersare not cut out for this level. He might even have flinched when the visiting fans sang "Bye bye Carletto" at full-time.
When Premier League sensibilities are laid aside, there should be gladness that Inter performed with such focus. Europe's leading tournament badly needs to be enhanced again by the accomplishment once taken for granted and dreaded in Serie A sides. Fiorentina, let it be recalled, had already edged out Liverpool in the group phase.
Mourinho was victorious in every aspect. His system, with three forwards supported by the excellent Wesley Sneijder had Chelsea in distress. Inter also got back in numbers to deny the Stamford Bridge side any rhythm. With a 2-1 lead from San Siro, they did not even look as if they felt another goal was essential.
Just to make sure, they scored in any case. Sneijder released Samuel Eto'o 12 minutes from the end and the striker went clear of Branislav Ivanovic to shoot precisely beyond the right hand of the goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull. The Dutchman who devised that opportunity had an imagination and touch denied just about everyone else on the pitch, particularly those in Chelsea colours.
With Ancelotti's side still well placed in the Premier League, desolation ought not to engulf the club. It is more likely that a gnawing anxiety will be felt over the urgency of rebuilding for seasons ahead.
The side barely constituted a nuisance to Inter. Mourinho's position at Stamford Bridge had become untenable in the early autumn of 2007 because his pragmatic and almost world-weary style was no longer acceptable to the owner, Roman Abramovich. He is unlikely to have undergone a profound change of heart since then but is too shrewd not to know when boldness will pay dividends.
Mourinho observed afterwards that the selection of Ivanovic and Yuri Zhirkov, who are makeshift full-backs because of injuries to others, made it certain that Inter would put the emphasis on attack.That adventurousness brought about stalemate in the first half. Chelsea were not sufficiently imaginative and Inter were initially patient. Even then Maicon, the Brazil right-back, was at ease and could get involved in the kind of build-up that saw him link with Eto'o after 33 minutes, with Michael Ballack having to cover Diego Milito as the ball was pulled back into the centre.
Ancelotti, despite having many of Mourinho's men still in the squad, is supposed to show that his outlook is fundamentally more enterprising. However, he is also charged with putting paid to visitors of this calibre. Following this defeat the scale of that task will be wholly apparent to the Chelsea manager.
There will be broad awareness now that neither the panache nor the durability exists to deal with this kind of ordeal. It will suit Mourinho's vanity to know that unflattering comparisons will be made with his spell at Chelsea. That tenure was far more than a period of well-executed tedium.
After all, victories tend to require risk and imagination at some point. At his peak with Chelsea, Mourinho had Arjen Robben and Damien Duff to devastate the opposition and delight the crowd. His timing was good, too, since those were the days when the Chelsea enterprise enraptured Abramovich and inspired him to unleash his wealth spectacularly.
Nowadays such means are not apparent even at Inter but Mourinho's summer dealings did bring more style to the Serie A club. When the side was removed by English opposition at this juncture in each of the previous two seasons, they did not score a goal against Liverpool or Manchester United. The determination to break with that sterility has now prevailed and the evolution had been visible in Inter's first-leg win. And it was Mourinho's scheme to put the opposition on edge with his trio of attackers at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had trouble achieving fluency, particularly when there was so much difficulty in making an impact on the flanks. There was a messiness even to the complaints. Heated appeals broke out at set pieces when, for example, Walter Samuel had his arms round Drogba. Those are offences, yet it is rare for a referee to grant a penalty when it is tough for him to know who initiated this commonplace grappling.
All the same, everyone will be entirely clear that Chelsea never had a firm grip of Inter.
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