| Chelsea once again failed to break the Arsenal curse After the first quarter-final matches of the Champions League, three clubs can already feel quite confident. Real Madrid, who beat Monaco with a score of 4:2, joined Milan and Porto, who won the day before. And only the last quarterfinal has not yet lost its intrigue. In the first round of the principled battle between the two London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, a draw was recorded - 1:1.
Before the London derby, Roman Abramovich's club had a theory of probability on its side. Chelsea has not been able to win against Arsenal for five long years. During this time, the London teams met in head-to-head duels 16 times, and the most the Blues could achieve was a draw. Britain loves traditions, but Chelsea's fatal streak must end at some point. However, in the 17th match in a row, the Gunners again did not lose. And taking into account the fact that Chelsea was considered the host in this London derby, Arsenal achieved a very worthy result - a productive draw on a foreign field.
This match also had another subtext. Before the quarter-finals, rather annoying rumors about the early resignation of Chelsea head coach Claudio Ranieri appeared again. As always, the club diligently refuted them. But it is unlikely that the Italian specialist will retain his place if his team loses its last chance to win a trophy this season. Especially if Chelsea loses again to Arsenal, which has already blocked the path of its neighbors in the FA Cup and the national championship. And the $15 million penalty that Ranieri must pay if the contract is terminated early does not seem like a significant amount when it comes to Roman Abramovich and his London hobby.
It seems that possible bonuses, ambition and a thirst for revenge have become good incentives for Chelsea. But the opening of the match remained with the Gunners. The aerophobic Bergkamp, Perez and Kolo Toure, who was playing his first away match in this league, could have scored. And only by the end of the first half hour did Chelsea take the initiative. The Blues also had numerous scoring chances, but the hosts were able to score only after the break, and then with the help of Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann. For some reason, the goalkeeper came out of the penalty area and simply gave the ball to Gudjohnsen, who was quick to send it into the orphaned goal.
It took Arsenal just six minutes to come back. Don’t think that the “gunners” carried them through with unrestrained attacks. On the contrary, the guests were more concerned about not missing out. Yet a rare counterattack, which Pires completed with a precise header, brought them success. “Everyone knows the value of away goals, so a 1:1 draw should be considered a good result,” Arsene Wenger did not hide his satisfaction. -- The goal gave Chelsea additional strength; the hosts could have increased the score, but missed several good chances. This ball broke us for a while, but the team showed their character in time.”
The intrigue of the match between Real Madrid and Monaco came down to the question of whether Morientes would be able to annoy his former team. It is no secret that the Spanish forward initially did not want to leave the “royal” club. Sitting on the Santiago Bernabeu bench, Morientes lost his place in the national team and was forced to go on loan to Monaco. The former Madrid favorite scored his goal. It's hard to call it revenge - a defeat with a score of 2:4 leaves Monaco with only a slim chance of reaching the semi-finals. And at first everything turned out quite well for the Monegasques. Real Madrid didn't take the game seriously and the consequences could have been dire. True, Monaco only once took advantage of the hosts' defensive apathy, managing to open the scoring. And in the second half everything fell into place.
The “royal” club managed to win back only thanks to luck (the ball insidiously bounced into the Roma goal from Elguera’s shoulder), but then Real did not make anyone doubt the justice of their superiority. Those who were supposed to score scored were Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo. And only at the end of the meeting Morientes played his ball. It's too late for it to be a turning point. Monaco coach Didier Deschamps is not going to give up: “We should always have a dream. There are still chances to win on aggregate. We had a great first half, but then my players got tired, which affected the result.”
Champions League. 1/4 finals. First matches. Chelsea - Arsenal - 1:1 ( Gudjohnsen 53 - Pires 59 ), Real Madrid - Monaco - 4:2 ( Squillaci 43, Morientes 83 - Helguera 51, Zidane 70, Figo 77, Ronaldo 81 ). Andrey VDOVIN |
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