chelsea vs atletico madrid show

Jose Mourinho said an "impossible" save

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said an "impossible" save by the goalkeeper on loan at Atletico Madrid from the Blues prompted his side's Champions League semi-final exit.
Thibaut Courtois dived low to his left to keep out a John Terry header when the score in their second leg was 1-1.
Moments later, striker Diego Costa won and scored a penalty to put Atletico ahead before Arda Turan added a third.
"One minute in the second half decided everything," said Mourinho.

"A minute where the Atletico goalkeeper makes an impossible save to a John Terry header then the penalty that kills the game.

"After that there was only one team with morale high, knowing with half an hour left they had control.
"For about 60 minutes, we had the game, but semi-finals and important matches are made of details and this was a very important detail.
"Congratulations to them because they are a very good side and what they are doing in the Spanish league is fantastic."
Belgium international Courtois, 21, was making his 150th appearance for Atletico in his third consecutive season on loan from Chelsea, for whom he has never played.
He has helped the capital side to their first European Cup final in 40 years and to the top of the Spanish league with three games remaining.
Having been cleared to play against his parent club by Uefa, he kept a clean sheet in the 0-0 first leg and foiled both Terry and David Luiz at Stamford Bridge.
When asked whether he would keep Courtois at Stamford Bridge next season, Mourinho simply said the 21-year-old was "an Atletico player".
The result was Mourinho's fourth successive Champions League semi-final loss following defeats at the same stage in all three of his seasons at Real Madrid, the club Atletico will face in the final.
Despite defensive errors contributing to all three goals, the Chelsea manager absolved his players of blame.
"I can't be critical with a group of players that from day one is giving everything, trying everything," he said.
"With problems with injuries, suspensions, with players that cannot play in the Champions League, I'm proud of them.
"Obviously it's disappointing to lose a semi-final second leg, especially at home, but I am proud of them. I prefer to say we did everything that was possible for us.
"We tried with honour and professionalism and we gave everything, but Atletico were mature and professional and they were in complete control."
Mourinho insisted his team, who still have an outside chance of winning the Premier League title, would come back stronger next season.
"Next season will be better than this season - that's our objective," he said. "Our young players will be better, hopefully we will have a couple of players to improve our team and we will try to do better."

How Jose Mourinho got it wrong

Mourinho tried to be positive by bringing on striker Samuel Eto'o, but the move backfired

Individual errors cost Chelsea a place in the final but, for once, Jose Mourinho's tactics were also at fault.
Chelsea's win over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday was an example of Mourinho getting his game-plan right.
I was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to see what happened when he made a wrong call.

Left flank lets Atletico in

Cesar Azpilicueta set up Chelsea's goal, so there was an obvious positive from playing him on the right side of their trio of attacking midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, instead of his regular position at left-back.
In the first half, the Spaniard was playing as a second striker when Chelsea had the ball - staying high up the pitch and cutting in to join Fernando Torres very early, looking for knockdowns.

When Atletico had possession, he moved back wide and retreated down the right, acting as another defender ahead of Branislav Ivanovic.
That flank was solid. As we found out for Atletico's equaliser just before half-time, Chelsea's left side was not.
I don't know what Ashley Cole was doing when Tiago played his initial diagonal ball for Juanfran to run on to. For some reason Cole was in the middle of the area rather than at left-back and Eden Hazard did not track back.
The whole goal was a mess from Chelsea's point of view, because nobody cut out Juanfran's pull-back either.
Until they conceded, Chelsea looked in control of the tie. Atletico's goal turned out to be a blow that they never recovered from.

Chelsea chasing the game

Atletico's away goal meant that Chelsea were out unless they scored again. Because Chelsea needed to go looking for another goal, it also meant Atletico could threaten on the counter-attack.
But Chelsea's biggest problem was the way they looked at the start of the second half. It appeared Atletico's equaliser had also taken away all their confidence.
Mourinho reacted by making an attacking change, by bringing Samuel Eto'o on after 54 minutes.
It was a positive move and the right decision, but it worked against him when Eto'o conceded a penalty, moments after coming on.
The Chelsea manager insisted afterwards that the Blues were the better team until the spot-kick, that saw Diego Costa put Atletico 2-1 up, but the statistics do not back that up.

Chelsea v Atletico before Diego Costa's penalty put Atletico 2-1 ahead on 60 min
Chelsea		Atletico
Stats: Opta
1	Goals	1
7	Goal attempts	8
1	Shots on target	4
4	Shots off target	1
1	Blocked shots	3
4	Shots inside area	5
3	Shots outside area	3
1	Headers at goal	1

Mourinho also pointed at John Terry's header, which was brilliantly saved by Thibaut Courtois seconds before Atletico's penalty as the turning point of the tie.
I am not so sure. In the first half, it was pretty even. But from the start of the second half, Atletico were on top.
Yes, Chelsea did have that Terry chance, but Atletico had made a much more positive start to the second half, and looked far more dangerous.
The only thing Mourinho was right about was that, once Diego Costa scored from the spot to make it 2-1, there was no way back for Chelsea.
Azpilicueta, who had returned to left-back when Eto'o came on, was at fault for the third goal that put the result beyond doubt.
He was also guilty of switching off, but it did not make any difference to the outcome of the tie. By then, I think the Chelsea players knew the game was already gone.

No way through for the Blues

When the score was 0-0, we saw why Atletico are unbeaten in the Champions League this season and had not conceded in their previous six matches.
They had Costa and Adrian Lopez up front and, behind them, two banks of four players who were very difficult to break down.
There was no chance of Chelsea scoring on the counter-attack because Atletico always left four men back.

Fernando Torres was up front for the Blues and isolated from his team-mates but he always had plenty of company.
Even when Atletico were on the attack, Torres always had two men in front of him and two behind him - it was like he was being kept in a box.
The only time Torres found some space and made a run to the near post inside the Atletico box, he scored.
But that was also the sole occasion in the first hour where Chelsea really opened up the Spanish side in open play.
Could they have done more in attack aside from their set-pieces? Yes. Hazard struggled to make an impact on the left-hand side.
Atletico marked him tightly and he was the most fouled player in the game - but his performance summed up the way the last couple of months have gone for him.
Willian was playing in the number 10 position behind Torres, but they barely linked up at all in the 67 minutes that Torres was on the pitch, exchanging just four passes in total, two apiece.

Diego Simeone's side face Real Madrid in the Champions League final - the first time two clubs from the same city will contest the trophy

But the biggest reason why Chelsea lacked an attacking threat was Atletico boss Diego Simeone. He was just as cautious when Atletico were 3-1 up and left four men back at all times, even for corners.

Atletico march on

With 15 minutes to go, and his team as good as through to the final, I saw Atletico's left-back Filipe Luis chase Gary Cahill down as he tried to clear the ball in the Chelsea area.
It was that sort of effort from all Atletico's players that epitomises Simeone's attitude, desire and work ethic.
There are no superstars in their team and no massive names, but they have some real talent in attack to go with their organisation at the back.
The way they kept the ball with quick-fire passing in triangles in the second half was a joy to watch. Make no mistake, the best team won.

Koke had a fabulous game in midfield, making more touches than any other player on the pitch, finding pockets of space and picking out some fantastic passes. He looked sensational.
Juanfran's performance was a perfect example of what you want from a modern full-back, defending brilliantly but also turning into a right winger at times and causing Chelsea so many problems on the overlap.
What has been an outstanding season for Atletico could now turn into a spectacular one if they can do the double of La Liga and the Champions League.
For Chelsea and Mourinho, it looks like it will end with them empty-handed.

Atletico Madrid produced a stunning counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge to set up a final against city rivals Real.

Jose Mourinho's side went ahead in the tie when Fernando Torres put Chelsea in front with a goal against his former club nine minutes before half-time.
But Chelsea allowed Atletico back into the match just before the interval, as Adrian Lopez scrambled home.

With Atletico ahead on the away goals rule following a goalless first leg, Chelsea needed to score to reach the Lisbon final but it was the Spaniards who struck again, Diego Costa putting them in front from the penalty spot before the excellent Arda Turan added a third with 18 minutes remaining.

At the final whistle, the visitors danced in front of their fans as John Terry stood in the centre circle and shed tears. It is the first time Atletico have reached a European Cup final since 1972 - and their meeting with Real will be the first time two clubs from the same city have ever contested the final.
For Mourinho and Chelsea, this had been an opportunity to exorcise the spirits of semi-finals past, not create more. To "ghost" goals, penalty shootouts, high-profile rows with Norwegian referees, add this painful defeat.
Mourinho had reached this stage of the competition in each of the past five seasons, but in that time has only managed to reach the final in 2010, when he won it with Inter Milan.
The script appeared to have been written for the Portuguese to return to Lisbon to face Real Madrid, the club he left amid accusations of failure.
Atletico had other ideas and a fairytale of their own to write. Central to their victory was the performance of their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, on loan from Chelsea. During a frantic second half, he denied Terry and David Luiz just as it seemed Chelsea might find a way back into the tie.

There had been early warning signs for Chelsea, even though for much of the opening 40 minutes they had looked in total control.

Koke's fourth-minute cross drifted onto Mark Schwarzer's crossbar, but in the early moments it was Chelsea who threatened.
Torres led the line with purpose from the outset, playing with the kind of vim and vigour that he had in making his name in the red and white of Atletico. Willian curled a free-kick over the bar, before Luiz produced an acrobatic overhead kick that went wide.
Atletico came into the game on the back of a ninth successive La Liga win, with a sixth successive clean sheet. It took a former idol to break that streak as Torres fired Chelsea in front after 36 minutes following fine work by Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta wide on the right. Torres raised his hands as if to apologise to the travelling supporters who once idolised him.
But within eight minutes Atletico were back in the tie, as Chelsea switched off with half-time approaching. Tiago floated a ball to the far post, where an unmarked Juanfran pulled it back across for Lopez to stroke into an empty net. It was the classic sucker-punch.
Worse was still to come for Chelsea. Substitute Samuel Eto'o collided with Costa in front of the referee. The Spain international stepped up and buried the spot kick to silence Stamford Bridge.
With Chelsea needing to push for a goal of their own, wide open spaces began to appear for Atletico and they took full advantage.
This was a counter-attack as decisive and devastating as the ones perfected by their city neighbours at Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Koke's cross from wide on the right found Turan charging at the back post. His initial header was tipped onto the bar but the Turk followed up to ram home the rebound and put the result beyond doubt.
Mourinho turned to his staff, knowing the game was up.