Juventus 2-2 Chelsea

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Juventus 2-2 Chelsea F.C.

March 10 2009, UEFA Champions League, First Knockout Round, Second Leg, Stadio Olimpico, Torino


Petr Cech in action in the Stadio Olimpico.

Michael Essien and Didier Drogba both found the net as Chelsea reached the Champions League Quarter Finals.

Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien equalised for the Blues seconds before the half time whistle after Vincenzo Iaquinta had finished clinically past Petr Cech after David Trezeguet had superbly played him behind the Chelsea defence. Juliano Belletti was penalised for handling Alessandro del Piero's freekick in the penalty area, and the Italian duly fired the spot kick beyond Cech. However with eight minutes remaining, Belletti made amends for conceding the penalty by crossing for Drogba to slide the ball home to ensure Chelsea's progress.

In a game that was full of action, incident and tension, Juventus centre-back Chiellini saw red for two yellow card offences, and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba had a brilliant freekick wrongly chalked off after the referee deemed the ball not to have crossed the line, despite replays providing evidence to the contrary. Nevertheless, the night was Chelsea's who join Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Villarreal in the Quarter-Finals of the competition.

With Michael Essien returning from a long spell on the sidelines against Coventry on Saturday, it was only natural for coach Guus Hiddink to hand the midfielder his first start for over six months. Salomon Kalou made way for the Ghanaian, and Nicolas Anelka also passed a late fitness check to replace Florent Malouda. Didier Drogba, scorer of the all-important winner in the first leg, operated as the lone front man in a 4-3-2-1 system.

The first chance of the game was not an easy one for Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved, who ballooned a header over the crossbar after an Essien stumble had allowed del Piero the time and space to cross for his teammate. Nedved's woe was later compounded when, following two amounts of treatment from the Juventus physiotherapist, was forced to retire from the field of play; Salihamidzic his replacement.

The early exchanges had been cagey, with both teams trying to size up their opponent before making their move. It was the hosts, however, who were causing the more problems, and their supremacy at the beginning of the game was underlined when they went ahead through Iaquinta. Receiving the ball, the Italian played a fantastic one-two with Trezeguet, with the former lofting a brilliant pass over the Chelsea defence. Through on goal, the Juventus striker's aim was unerring as he fired beyond the advancing Petr Cech in clinical fashion. The Stadio Olimpico erupted as the Turin side forced their way back into the tie. All of a sudden, things weren't looking so great for the West London outfit.

In reply, the Blues could only fashion one chance; with Drogba heading over under pressure from the Juventus defence, before del Piero saw a shot parried over by Cech. The Italian side were enjoying the lion's share of possession and were looking by far the more dangerous of the two teams.

Nevertheless, a cacophony of Chelsea appeals could be heard as Drogba smashed a free kick beyond Buffon with minutes to go before half-time, but to their dismay, the ball was judged not to have crossed the line. The Italian goalkeeper breathed a huge sigh of relief whilst the Chelsea players pleaded their case to the officials, but once again, it seemed that the linesman would play a telling part in Chelsea's Champions League exploits.

But there were no doubts that the ball had crossed the line when Michael Essien scored his first goal in 11 months. Still enraged by the denial of a clear goal, Frank Lampard took matters into his own hands when he lashed a brilliant 35 yard volley which Buffon did superbly to tip onto the crossbar. The ball broke to the advancing Essien, who wasted no time poking home before wheeling away to celebrate. Justice had been done, and as the whistle for the interval blew, an eerie silence fell around the stadium. Chelsea had one foot in the Quarter-Finals.

Whilst the Blues had been below-par for the first period, the side sent out by Hiddink for the second 45 seemed an altogether different one. With the momentum now theirs, the Blues were now winning every second ball and every 50-50 challenge went the way of the visitors. The Bianconeri were clearly on the back foot as their opponents, buoyed by their equaliser, pressed for the second goal which would end the contest.

Chiellini went in the book as the home fans expressed their displeasure in their team's performance. Their jeers would have been drowned out by celebration had John Terry not intercepted a cross for Iaquinta in front of goal; superbly flicking the ball beyond the Italian forward. Cech then handled outside his area and was yellow carded for his troubles, but the resulting freekick came to nothing, with Trezeguet heading straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Michael Essien went off on 65 minutes as his comeback from injury continued, and was replaced by Juliano Belletti. The home side's slim chances of progressing took a further dent when Chiellini was given his marching orders for a crunching tackle on Drogba - the Italian won the ball, but only after coming through the back of the Ivorian. His second bookable offence saw the Italian defender dismissed, and Juventus were moreorless out of the contest.

However, Belletti was penalised for handling inside the area and the Bianconeri had a penalty kick. It was a harsh on the Brazilian, but the Chelsea number 35 appeared to accidentally flail an arm in the air, and del Piero made him pay by rolling the ball into the net, sending Cech the wrong way.

The pressure now all on Chelsea, the Blues seemed destined to succumb to Juventus pressure but the fact the Italian side were pressing forward gave Belletti and Anelka license to roam forward, and it was the former who supplied the assist for Drogba's killer equaliser. Streaming down the right, the Brazilian combined with Ballack for Drogba, who had the simplest of tasks to slide the ball beyond Buffon. The stadium, which was rocking only moments ago, was suddenly quiet, but for a pocket of Chelsea fans who were jubilant.

Buffon had to be at his best to stop Chelsea winning on the night - by stopping a Ballack volley and denying Belletti at the death - but he was powerless to stop his team going out, and Chelsea progressed to the last eight of the competition. The Blues lost the Final on penalties last season. It’s pretty evident they want to make amends.

___________________________________________________________________

The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match award goes to...



5. Michael Essien

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Alex (Carvalho), Terry ©, A Cole; Ballack, Mikel, Lampard; Essien (Belletti), Drogba, Anelka

Juventus: Buffon; Grygera, Mellberg, Chiellini, Molinaro; Tiago, Marchisio, Nedved (Salihamidzic); del Piero, Iaquinta (Giovinco), Trezeguet (Amauri)

[Steve 10,227]

As always great report Alex

[NoFear 23]

nice report.. though i wud argue wd our Bison being named MoM.. Gd performance considering it ws his 1st start but still looked a long way frm his best in the opening 30 odd minutes... To me it has got to b Lamps or Drogs.. Lamps giving his usual 8/10 performance and DD doing wat he dus best.. intimidating his opponents...

I hope the countless number of yellows we picked up do not come back to haunt us !!!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Thanks chaps