Solid if unspectacular Chelsea proved club can still call on old guard

 
Defensive approach: The Chelsea players congratulate themselves after a hard-fought draw
GETTY
James Olley23 April 2014

They may all be out of contract in the summer but Jose Mourinho can still rely on Chelsea’s old guard to dig in on the big occasions.

Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard may have joined John Terry in the starting line-up due to injury and suspension elsewhere in the squad but on an evening when the Blues defended so deep they were two steps from falling into the Manzanares river adjacent to the Vincente Calderon Stadium, few are better suited to the task at hand.

This was Cole’s first start since January 26 and in the interim he had played one half for England against Denmark and 13 minutes at the end of a routine 3-0 home win against Stoke. Red and white shirts renewed his acquaintance here but the comparisons end there rather abruptly.

There had been talk pre-match of Mourinho favouring David Luiz at right-back and persisting with Cesar Azpilicueta in his now customary left-back spot, such is the disregard the Portuguese has shown towards Cole, but sanity prevailed and the England defender was his typical tidy self – an almost inevitable seven out of ten.

Solid if unspectacular. In essence, that encapsulated Chelsea’s display throughout. Mourinho’s caution reduced Atletico Madrid to working the ball wide – often with insufficient speed – before delivering the kind of angled cross that Terry and Gary Cahill can deal with blindfolded.

This was Cole’s 104th Champions League appearance, Lampard’s 101st and Terry’s 96th. That experience provided the foundation for survival in a wonderfully vociferous atmosphere; Chelsea’s approach thereafter nullified this as a spectacle and if Atletico found it somewhat novel in their first Champions League semi-final since 1974, then Bayern Munich, also in the Spanish capital for tonight’s first leg, and Barcelona surely watched with collective knowing nods.

Atletico Madrid v Chelsea player ratings

1/28

It may be extraordinarily dull to some but Chelsea’s ability to grind their way towards results like this is a hallmark of their recent European success and a testament to their discipline and professionalism – characteristics enhanced by Mourinho’s renowned organisations skills.

Chelsea’s reliance on that experience extended beyond the English trio; of the starting line-up, only Azpilicueta and Willian were 25 or under. The average age – just under 29 years old – was elevated by an injury to goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was forced off with what early indications suggested was a dislocated shoulder after only 18 minutes and replaced by 41-year-old Mark Schwarzer, who had at least had the opportunity to shake off the cobwebs on his gloves in last Saturday’s home defeat to Sunderland.

Schwarzer is an unknown quality at this level, however, making only his second appearance in the competition following December’s dead rubber debut against Steaua Bucharest, but he was required to repel Gabi’s second half free-kick but little else of note as Atletico mustered 26 shots but only 10 mostly tame efforts on target on what amounted to a hugely frustrating evening for the Rojiblancos

That said, Chelsea were unnerved on a few occasions. Lampard will miss the second leg after a mistimed tackle earned him a yellow card while Terry’s 73 minute withdrawal through injury prompted an unwelcome reshuffle with Andre Schurrle introduced an David Luiz pushed into central defence.

No matter. Costa could have yielded more from a couple of half chances, Jon Obi Mikel and Gary Cahill made several important interventions and Azpilcueta was required to continue his fine form housed in his more natural position but they had enough on Tuesday to secure a positive result that leaves next Wednesday’s second leg weighted slightly in their favour.

Chelsea may be running out of players to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday but that concern is for another day. Time may be running out for Cole, Lampard and Terry but it made no difference here.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in