‘Last gasp Essien strike seals semi final spot’
Valencia 1 – 2 Chelsea – 10th April 2007
Chelsea cut a path to the semi final with a last minute goal from Michael Essien taking them through to face Liverpool or PSV in the Champions League. Having gone 1-0 down it looked unlikely that the Blues would enable Jose Mourinho to continue his quest of winning back the Champions League but after a resolute performance the blues were able to complete a come back and send themselves through to increase the likelihood of an English team in the final of Europe’s greatest cup competition.
After a tight first leg the Champions League Quarter Final crucial to both sides was observed eagerly both the supporters inside the cauldron of the Mestillia.
Having gone a goal down in the home leg Chelsea knew that they needed to settle early if they were to claim a place in the Champions League semi final. The away side made several changes to the team which gained ground on Manchester United over the weekend with strikers Shevchenko and Drogba returned to the line up after taking a break against Tottenham.
Valencia began with the same side which started in the first leg, posing excellent threats all round with the defensive steal of Ayala and Miguel building a base for the attacking flair or Joaquin, Morientes and Villa to gun down Chelsea as they did so successfully in the first leg.
The Spanish team looked to have a game plan of scoring early and threatened Chelsea on several occasions in the early stages. Villa caused problems with some darting runs as the Blues failed to cope with the movement of the little and large combination in the attacking zones.
Morientes rattled a post to give Chelsea a warning of his ability early on in a first half played very much like a game of chess. With Cech beaten the former Liverpool striker almost sent his side closer to playing his old club in the semi final but was denied by the woodwork.
With Chelsea struggling for momentum it was Morientes who was able to give his side a one goal advantage. After an excellent exchange Joaquin on the right hand side the striker half volleyed the ball into the net leaving Chelsea reeling. Having scored two goals against Chelsea in a run with Monaco to the final, the tall Spaniard striker was able to find the net with a first time strike.
Drogba almost hit back immediately as the shackles suddenly came off for the Blues. Great work from Ashley Cole down the left worked a cross onto the head of the Ivorian but an excellent save from Canizares prevented the English Champions from making the aggregate score 2-2.
As Valencia sat back Chelsea threatened again with a good header from Ballack from a corner and also John Terry coming close from a well taken set piece from Lampard. Playing out of position the England midfielder was finding it difficult to become involved in the game and he almost aided Chelsea opponents to further extend their lead by giving the ball away.
A great cross by former Chelsea defender Del Horno led to another header by Morientes but this time Ashley Cole was able to intervene with an excellent block on the line.
With Chelsea aiming to improve on their first half display the away side came out with increased intensity in the second period. Mourinho brought on Joe Cole and the impish forward played an impressive part in the Chelsea comeback.
The Englishman, missing for the last five months, was at the heart of everything good and almost scored himself in the early moments of the second half but was closed down by several defenders. An increasing burden on the Valencia defense helped Chelsea take the initiative and Drogba began to become a thorn in the side of Ayala who became frustrated with the strong forward player of Chelsea’s top scorer.
Drogba’s strike partner Shevchenko came close to clawing Chelsea’s way back into the game but was off target with a shot and then failed to connect with a Lampard pass. The Ukranian striker had better luck moments later however when he did find the net to put Chelsea back level with their opponents. Good defending by Valencia to close down Drogba was not enough to stope the ball making it’s way into the path of Shevchenko who was able to stab the ball into the net.
Chelsea now became more dominant and started to pile on the pressure. Drogba who was by now working hard for the cause of the team came close to putting Chelsea in front but his weak shot ended up not troubling Canizares in the Valencia goal. Ballack was also denied by the Spanish goalkeeper whose reflex save effectively kept his side in the game.
A well worked free kick from Lampard was flicked on by the German but tipped over the bar in stylish fashion.
Valencia seemed happy to play for extra time by now and created little in the attacking third. With Morientes removed from the game and Villa unable to get much time in possession of the ball, Essien and Cole were able to push forward and help their team go for the winner.
It was the right full back Essien who put his side into the next round however. Exchanging passes with Lampard he drove a shot across the box and across the keeper making the final score 2-1 with the last meaningful kick of the game.
An entertaining game came to an end with Chelsea celebrating coming closer to their first European Cup Final in history whilst Valencia were left to concentrate on the battle for a Spanish League title.
Having gone a goal down in the home leg Chelsea knew that they needed to settle early if they were to claim a place in the Champions League semi final. The away side made several changes to the team which gained ground on Manchester United over the weekend with strikers Shevchenko and Drogba returned to the line up after taking a break against Tottenham.
Valencia began with the same side which started in the first leg, posing excellent threats all round with the defensive steal of Ayala and Miguel building a base for the attacking flair or Joaquin, Morientes and Villa to gun down Chelsea as they did so successfully in the first leg.
The Spanish team looked to have a game plan of scoring early and threatened Chelsea on several occasions in the early stages. Villa caused problems with some darting runs as the Blues failed to cope with the movement of the little and large combination in the attacking zones.
Morientes rattled a post to give Chelsea a warning of his ability early on in a first half played very much like a game of chess. With Cech beaten the former Liverpool striker almost sent his side closer to playing his old club in the semi final but was denied by the woodwork.
With Chelsea struggling for momentum it was Morientes who was able to give his side a one goal advantage. After an excellent exchange Joaquin on the right hand side the striker half volleyed the ball into the net leaving Chelsea reeling. Having scored two goals against Chelsea in a run with Monaco to the final, the tall Spaniard striker was able to find the net with a first time strike.
Drogba almost hit back immediately as the shackles suddenly came off for the Blues. Great work from Ashley Cole down the left worked a cross onto the head of the Ivorian but an excellent save from Canizares prevented the English Champions from making the aggregate score 2-2.
As Valencia sat back Chelsea threatened again with a good header from Ballack from a corner and also John Terry coming close from a well taken set piece from Lampard. Playing out of position the England midfielder was finding it difficult to become involved in the game and he almost aided Chelsea opponents to further extend their lead by giving the ball away.
A great cross by former Chelsea defender Del Horno led to another header by Morientes but this time Ashley Cole was able to intervene with an excellent block on the line.
With Chelsea aiming to improve on their first half display the away side came out with increased intensity in the second period. Mourinho brought on Joe Cole and the impish forward played an impressive part in the Chelsea comeback.
The Englishman, missing for the last five months, was at the heart of everything good and almost scored himself in the early moments of the second half but was closed down by several defenders. An increasing burden on the Valencia defense helped Chelsea take the initiative and Drogba began to become a thorn in the side of Ayala who became frustrated with the strong forward player of Chelsea’s top scorer.
Drogba’s strike partner Shevchenko came close to clawing Chelsea’s way back into the game but was off target with a shot and then failed to connect with a Lampard pass. The Ukranian striker had better luck moments later however when he did find the net to put Chelsea back level with their opponents. Good defending by Valencia to close down Drogba was not enough to stope the ball making it’s way into the path of Shevchenko who was able to stab the ball into the net.
Chelsea now became more dominant and started to pile on the pressure. Drogba who was by now working hard for the cause of the team came close to putting Chelsea in front but his weak shot ended up not troubling Canizares in the Valencia goal. Ballack was also denied by the Spanish goalkeeper whose reflex save effectively kept his side in the game.
A well worked free kick from Lampard was flicked on by the German but tipped over the bar in stylish fashion.
Valencia seemed happy to play for extra time by now and created little in the attacking third. With Morientes removed from the game and Villa unable to get much time in possession of the ball, Essien and Cole were able to push forward and help their team go for the winner.
It was the right full back Essien who put his side into the next round however. Exchanging passes with Lampard he drove a shot across the box and across the keeper making the final score 2-1 with the last meaningful kick of the game.
An entertaining game came to an end with Chelsea celebrating coming closer to their first European Cup Final in history whilst Valencia were left to concentrate on the battle for a Spanish League title.