Chelsea 1 Juventus 0: Drogba delivers shattering blow to Claudio’s old men

26 February 2009 02:08
Even if the Old Lady is heading for the geriatric ward, she still managed to finish strongly against a tiring Chelsea[LNB]last night — and that will concern Guus Hiddink.On the face of it, Hiddink should be fairly satisfied. His first appearance as manager at Stamford Bridge did not just end in victory but one that spared him the embarrassment of losing to former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri. But he must have winced at the sight of a 36-year-old Pavel Nedved sending a shot whistling past Petr Cech's left-hand post deep into stoppage time. Just as he must have watched anxiously, if rather admiringly, as Didier Drogba took it upon himself to drop deep into midfield and defend against an Italian side growing in stature.  [LNB] Jumping for joy: Didier Drogba celebrates his superb goal[LNB] After 20 minutes, Chelsea looked like they were going to make mincemeat of the opposition. Ahead thanks to a super goal from Drogba, they appeared so superior. So much so that even Big Phil Scolari would have backed himself to guide his former charges past ageing Juve. In Alessandro Del Piero, and in Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon, some of the old magic does, however, remain and they must now consider themselves capable of performing an escape act that would even impress David Blaine.  Memories are made of this .. A Bridge salute from Ranieri as Juve stage the Good Old Days[LNB]Big-spending Ranieri's back at Chelsea with a warning for his former club [LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB]Chelsea 1 Juventus 0: All the action as it happened[LNB] Common sense says Chelsea have probably done enough. They have the advantage of a goal and Juve's failure to score here makes the Italians more vulnerable in Turin. But for Hiddink there remains much work to be done, on Chelsea's fitness as well as the quality of their football. [LNB] Old lady's old guard: Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved of Juventus salute their supporters after the game[LNB]If they were ruthlessly efficient in winning at Villa Park last weekend, they lacked much of the fluency of that performance on this occasion. Juve are not that good. They are a million miles from the team Manchester United only conquered because of a super-human performance from Roy Keane. Light-years away from the days when Del Piero, Nedved and Buffon struck fear across Europe. They are a team of once great players and nearly men, with the old guard supported by players who never quite succeeded in the Barclays Premier League. Tiago, once of Chelsea, and Mohamed Sissoko, formerly of Liverpool. In his honest assessment of Chelsea's display, Hiddink identified flaws for the 70 minutes that followed that early promise. They made hard work of this Champions League encounter, losing the momentum and almost losing the plot when the increasingly error-prone Petr Cech fumbled dangerously in his area. He also pulled off one or two excellent saves, not least in denying Del Piero in the first half, but if he was once Buffon's equal as the finest keeper in the world, he no longer is now. [LNB] The old and the new: Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri and current boss Guus Hiddink watch on at Stamford Bridge[LNB]Confidence could be the key in Turin and the Italians may be short of it after the last 48 hours. Italian football is not what it was, as Manchester United discovered against Inter Milan and Arsenal did against Roma. The force is with the English trio and they should have no difficulty forcing their way past Italian opponents and into the quarter-finals. Two more weeks with Hiddink will favour Chelsea. While Juve continue to work under the tinkering Ranieri, Chelsea have an astute tactician in Hiddink and someone starting to again get the best out of Drogba. The striker could have had an early goal when Cristian Molinaro collided with him but no sooner had he dusted himself down than he was celebrating that terrific 13th minute goal. It was a beauty, from the quality of Salomon Kalou's pass to the manner in which Drogba first left Nicola Legrottaglie standing and then lifted the ball over Buffon with a calmly-executed finish. He could have scored again three minutes later but headed wide. Chelsea were playing with real energy, their strength, power and relative youth seemingly too much for the Italians. [LNB] Midfield tussle: Frank Lampard and Marco Marchionni battle for the ball[LNB]In Del Piero, though, Juve found inspiration. He tested Cech with a vicious strike and used a combination of intelligence and skill to at times dazzle defenders. Ashley Cole responded in frustration and took him out with a crunching challenge. Further opportunities fell to both sides. Olof Mellberg threatened with a header; Mauro Camoranesi with a shot. Kalou tried his luck for Chelsea, as did the ambitious Cole. [LNB] In the air: John Terry goes for the ball with Mohamed Sissoko in close attention[LNB] A little tinkering from Ranieri in the second half — off went Camoranesi and on went Marco Marchionni — and Juve looked better still, limiting Chelsea to long-range efforts from Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack. That said, Drogba perhaps should have scored with another header. Most impressive, however, was the sight of Alex bursting the ball in a thumping challenge that echoed around the stadium. A sign, at least, of Chelsea's commitment. Drogba then adopted an almost talismanic role, standing alongside John Mikel Obi as a second holding midfielder and using his ability in the air to deflect the danger. The Old Lady could sense the anxiety and my, how she tried to force an equaliser, mustering attack after attack from those brittle bones. In Nedved, once a winner of the Ballon d'Or, they almost had their saviour before Hiddink realised a shot that appeared to finish in the net had, in fact, flown wide. Another win for the Dutchman, albeit a nervous one.[LNB] Memories are made of this .. A Bridge salute from Ranieri as Juve stage the Good Old Days[LNB]Big-spending Ranieri's back at Chelsea with a warning for his former club [LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB]Chelsea 1 Juventus 0: All the action as it happened[LNB][LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail