Chelsea recorded one of their biggest wins of the season, sweeping Napoli aside 4-1 (5-4 aggregate) to take a Champions League quarterfinals place. It was a thrilling and inspirational show that was by no means as lopsided as the final score suggests. Real Madrid joined them, easing by CSKA Moscow 4-1 (5-2 aggregate) in a match that was never in doubt.
Andre Villas-Boas was right: his Chelsea team does need an overhaul. And yet, it is hard not to think that it would have been him on the sidelines tonight had he exercised more tact with the so-called old guard. Instead, he alienated his players, was the victim of a clubhouse revolt — and had to watch Roberto Di Matteo take all the credit on a famous night at Stamford Bridge.
The fact is, the ‘old guard’ Villas-Boas never warmed up to are a prideful bunch. They also have talent and a point to prove. Tonight, led by an irrepressible Didier Drogba, they made their case, carrying Chelsea into the quarterfinals and saving English pride to boot. Had Chelsea fallen to this slick and fast Napoli side, England would have been without a representative in the late rounds for the first time since 1995-96.
It was a frantic, breathtaking show in London that looked for some time as if the same weaknesses that have troubled Chelsea all season would cost them. Napoli, led by the fleet Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio, found the gaps early on and drove right through them. For nearly half an hour, Chelsea fans ranged from restless, to irritable, to outright hostile.
And then, Drogba. He has a lot of detractors, folks who remember him better for his petulance and his penchant for going down easily. That was in the past, and only a fool would come away tonight not feeling as if Drogba is one of the greats to play this game. Tireless at both ends of the field, steering both the offense and defense after John Terry had to be removed, his goal out of nowhere changed this match entirely.
Ramires – potent on offense, lukewarm everywhere else tonight – was the man who served it to him, and his work with Drogba would ultimately win Chelsea this game. Drogba’s goal was an unstoppable snap-header that gave keeper Morgan De Sanctis no hope. The winner, in extra time, came when Ramires threaded the needle between Hamsik and Andrea Dossena, which Drogba turned powerfully and screwed the ball to Branislav Ivanovic, who fired home from near the spot.
But Chelsea’s real strength came in dampening Napoli’s devastating counter-attack. Cavani was a non-factor, as was Ezequiel Lavezzi. In fact, had Gokhan Inler not scored one of the goals of the tournament — a brilliant half volley he chested down then whipped past Petr Cech — Napoli would have been out of this before extra time.
Napoli proved unable to handle Chelsea’s aerial assault. Walter Mazzarri's men were disorganized in the back, shaky on set-pieces and completely unable to track headers. They were lucky to only concede one penalty (an unlucky Dossena, unable to deputize for the injured Maggio) and it was proper that three of the goals they surrendered were either headers or created by headers.
Chelsea do have issues: they leave a lot of space in the back and had Napoli converted some of their chances in that first half, we wouldn’t even be here. But for one night at least, they showed that the ‘old guard’ still can get it done.
Conversely, Real Madrid was never in trouble tonight in Spain, dominating in midfield and setting the tempo. The 5-2 aggregate was an apt reflection of Jose Mourinho's side's superiority against a CSKA Moscow side that was simply outclassed.
Cristiano Ronaldo ran his season goal total to 42, with another pair on a night when he was the fulcrum of Madrid’s attack. Holding the ball efficiently, slipping neat passes through the Russian defense and teasing them with his speed, Ronaldo was a constant threat to shoot.
Gonzalo Higuain actually stepped in front of Ronaldo to open the account in the 26th minute, climaxing a period of intense Real pressure with a simple finish. That goal was created by Sami Khedira's exquisite chip to the back post, which sprung Kaka completely free. The Brazilian passed across the face of goal and Higuain won the race to touch it home.
Ahead 1-0 at the interval and 2-1 on aggregate, Real continued to play a measured, short-passing game. They operated with such confidence that CSKA was often reduced to watching the succession of moves. But the goal which broke the Russians' back, wasn't the result of silky build-up.
Instead, it was a 35-yard Ronaldo laser that dipped in front of Sergei Chepchugov and bounced right past him in the 55th minute. That was hard on the CSKA keeper who had kept his side in the tie. Unfortunately for him, he will not want to watch any replays of his misjudged attempt to save.
Karim Benzema, on the field just 30 seconds as a sub, made it 3-0 in the 70th minute, to both kill off the tie and give CSKA a bit of breathing space. Real relaxed, the Russians had some moments of possession and one of them produced a fine goal from Zoran Tosic. Yet, it was no more than a consolation effort.
Ronaldo, sent in alone by Benzema in stoppage time, completed the rout, by which time many of the supporters were heading home, thinking perhaps of Friday's draw and the possibility of another European showdown against arch rivals Barcelona.
Chelsea and Real Madrid join AC Milan, APOEL, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Olympique Marseille in the quarterfinals. The draw for the quarterfinal and semifinal round of the Champions League will be held Friday at 7 a.m. ET, and will be broadcast live on FOX Soccer and tracked in real-time on our Twitter feed @FoxSoccer.
