Champions League.
Location: Stamford Bridge.
Match report.
Chelsea's recent fortunes have not been promising, both in and away from the Premier League. Struggling to keep a firm grasp on 4th place coupled with the sacking of Villas-Boas and a 3-1 defeat in the first leg at Napoli, provided little hope going into this crucial game. With AVB gone, old Chelsea legend Roberto di Matteo was assigned as manager till the end of the season - would he provide Chelsea with what they so desperately needed?
The Blues started well, with real energy and a clear determination to win. The majority of possession was in favour of Chelsea, with shots from Sturridge, Terry and Ramires failing to find the goal. However, in a matter of minutes Petr Cech had to make 3 decent saves - reminding Chelsea that Napoli could be a dangerous opposition. Finally in the 29th minute, Dider Drogba's goal placed Chelsea that little bit closer to where they needed to be. However, Napoli were soon on the counter attack, not wanting their lead to slip away from them. They seemed dangerous on the break, and Chelsea conceded 3 free kicks within 5 minutes - one of which resulted in Frank Lampard being shown a yellow card. Solid defending from David Luiz and Ashley Cole secured their 1-0 lead as the game entered half time.
Only 2 minutes into the 2nd half and John Terry grabs a header from Ramires' corner to put his team 2-0 in the lead and 3-3 on aggregate. If it stays like this, then the Blues are through on away goals! Again, the Chelsea goal spurs Napoli to attack and only 6 minutes after their 2nd goal, Gokhan Inler fires a powerful shot and finds the bottom left corner of the Chelsea net. The tables have now turned, Napoli are ahead 3-4 on aggregate and Chelsea need another goal to take the game to penalties. Napoli again launch another attack on goal, however in the 62nd minute, Sturridge is replaced by Fernando Torres, in the hope of finding that winning goal. Instead, it was Frank Lampard who kept Chelsea's dream alive via his 74th minute penalty, due to a handball by Andrea Dossena. With a score line of 3-1 and 4-4 on aggregate the game progressed into extra time, with the option of penalties looming.
The first half of extra time was equal on both parts, yet Napoli seemed to slightly crack under the pressure. Juan Mata and John Terry were soon replaced by Florent Malouda and Jose Bosingwa. However, in the final minute of the half it was Ivanovic who grabed the winning goal for Chelsea. The final half of extra time is marred by 2 yellow cards for a desperate Napoli who could never quite find the back of the Chelsea goal, however not through a lack of effort.
Chelsea were now through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the only English team to do so this season. Di Matteo, who seemed emotionless throughout, showed real relief and joy at the final whistle, embracing Drogba before congratulating the rest of his team. A cracking start for the temporary manager, but will it last?
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