Chelsea's hopes of reaching a third Champions League final in six
years were ended as Atletico Madrid produced a stunning
counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge to set up a final against
city rivals Real.
Jose Mourinho's side went ahead in the tie
when Fernando Torres put Chelsea in front
with a goal against his former club nine
minutes before half-time.
But Chelsea allowed Atletico back into the
match just before the interval, as Adrian Lopez
scrambled home.
With Atletico ahead on the away goals rule
following a goalless first leg, Chelsea needed to
score to reach the Lisbon final but it was the
Spaniards who struck again, Diego Costa
putting them in front from the penalty spot
before the excellent Arda Turan added a third
with 18 minutes remaining.
At the final whistle, the visitors danced in
front of their fans as John Terry stood in the
centre circle and shed tears. It is the first time
Atletico have reached a European Cup final
since 1972.
For Mourinho and Chelsea, this had been an
opportunity to exorcise the spirits of semi-
finals past, not create more. To "ghost" goals,
penalty shootouts, high-profile rows with
Norwegian referees, add this painful defeat.
Mourinho had reached this stage of the
competition in each of the past five seasons,
but in that time has only managed to reach the
final in 2010, when he won it with Inter Milan.
The script appeared to have been written for
the Portuguese to return to Lisbon to face Real
Madrid, the club he left with accusations of
failure.
Atletico had other ideas and a fairytale of their
own to write. Central to their victory was the
performance of their goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois, on loan from Chelsea. During a
frantic second half, he denied Terry and David
Luiz just as it seemed Chelsea might find a way
back into the tie.
There had been early warnings signs for
Chelsea, even though for much of the opening
40 minutes they had looked in total control.
Koke's fourth-minute cross drifted onto Mark
Schwarzer's crossbar, but in the early
moments it was Chelsea who threatened.
Torres led the line with purpose from the
outset, playing with the kind of vim and vigour
that he had in making his name in the red and
white of Atletico. Willian curled a free-kick
over the bar, before Luiz produced an
acrobatic overhead kick that went wide.
Atletico came into the game on the back of a
ninth successive La Liga win, with a sixth
successive clean sheet. It took a former idol to
break that streak as Torres fired Chelsea in
front after 36 minutes following fine work by
Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta wide on the right.
Torres raised his hands as if to apologise to
the travelling supporters who once idolised
him.
But within eight minutes Atletico were back in
the tie, as Chelsea switched off with half-time
approaching. Tiago floated a ball to the far
post, where an unmarked Juanfran pulled it
back across for Lopez to stroke into an empty
net. It was the classic sucker-punch.
Worse was still to come for Chelsea. Substitute
Samuel Eto'o collided with Costa in front of
the referee. The Spain international stepped up
and buried the spot kick to silence Stamford
Bridge.
With Chelsea needing to push for a goal of
their own, wide open spaces began to appear
for Atletico and they took full advantage.
This was a counter attack as decisive and
devastating as the ones perfected by their city
neighbours at Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Koke's cross from wide on the right found
Turan charging at the back post. His initial
header was tipped onto the bar but the Turk
followed up to ram home the rebound and put
the result beyond doubt.
Mourinho turned to his staff, knowing the
game was up.
