Defensive Chelsea stymies Atletico at Calderon

Chelsea's starting 11 set the tone for the Champions League game between the Blues and Atletico Madrid, a defensive affair with few memorable moments.

Here’s what happened in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, in case you missed it…

The result

Watch match highlights: Atletico Madrid 0, Chelsea 0
Read match report: Chelsea escapes Madrid unscathed


Thoughts on the day

Jose parks the bus As soon as Jose Mourinho released his team sheet an hour before kickoff we knew we’d be in for a dire, defensive affair. With Samuel Eto’o and Eden Hazard ruled out through injury, Mourinho had even more reason to park the bus, and that’s exactly what he did, leaving Oscar and Andre Schuerrle on the substitutes’ bench and drafting in John Obi Mikel. On paper Mourinho deployed a 4-4-3 formation, but in practise it was 9-0-1, with Ramires and Willian dropping back and acting as destroyers instead of creators. Atletico is quick on the transition, and Mourinho countered that by having his team defend deep and in numbers, routinely putting nine players behind the ball. It was far from pretty, but it worked.

Diego Costa, Koke and Raul Garcia had very quiet nights, and for all of Atletico’s possession they lacked that final, killer pass that was able to open up Chelsea’s defence. John Terry put in a man of the match performance, organizing a Chelsea back line that was hardly troubled. Mourinho was harangued on Twitter by fans for his ultra-defensive tactics and for his team’s lack of attacking ambition. But it was the right way to play at the hostile Estadio Vicente Calderon, and now the Blues have a decent chance of winning the tie in next week’s return leg a Stamford Bridge.

Cech checks out: Chelsea’s disciplined (for the most part) and well-organized performance was all the more impressive in light of the injury to Petr Cech. The Blues goalkeeper crashed to the ground in the 15th minute after tipping a corner kick over the crossbar. David Luiz pushed Garcia into Cech, and he ended up dislocating his shoulder after hitting the ground hard. It was later revealed he’s out for the rest of the season, as is John Terry, who was subbed out in the second half with an ankle injury.

With Thibaut Courtois unavailable (he was tending goal at the other end of the field-oh, the irony) Mark Schwarzer was brought in, forcing Mourinho to make an unwanted early change, and giving him the chance to make only two tactical switches later on. Schwarzer didn’t look out of place—although to be fair he really wasn’t tested thanks to the Chelsea’s defence—but the absences of Cech, Terry and Frank Lampard (for yellow card accumulation) for next week’s return leg will make it that much harder for Mourinho’s men.


Wednesday programming alert: Watch Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet World. Coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT. | Sportsnet World Online | TV schedule


Stat of the day

Save of the day

Mark Schwarzer wasn’t really busy, but he did make some key saves when called upon. In the 76th minute, Gabi hit a low and driving free kick that deflected off the defensive wall that seemed destined to nestle inside the post. Schwarzer did very well to get down and tip the ball around the post.

Question of the day

[polldaddy poll=7988462]

Tweet of the day

3 stars

1) John Terry: JT masterfully anchored a stingy Chelsea defence that neutralized Atletico for most of the night.
2) Diego Godin: The Uruguay centre back was at the heart of a Atletico back line that wasn’t troubled on the day.
3) Cesar Azpilicueta: The Spaniard made a number of key tackles and interceptions, and held his position well.


Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.


When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.