After losing 3-1 to a very good Napoli team in Naples, a lot of people wrote Chelsea off from being able to overturn the deficit on the return leg at Stamford Bridge and progress to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League.
Well, ready to eat humble pie boys? Because Chelsea did it with a performance of guts and determination rather than being outstandingly brilliant. The much discreditted “old guard” all got on the score sheet, with Drogba netting the first, Terry putting us in the driving seat, and then the best midfielder for the last 10 years in England, Frank Lampard putting away a pressure penalty to make it 4-4 on aggregate after Napoli had scored a cracking goal.
So it was into extra time, and not many at the beginning thought that outcome likely. But then Drogba put the ball into the box, and it fell to Branislav Ivanovic in an acre of space, first time shot high into the roof of the net and ecstasy. Then held off the Napoli attack to enter the draw tomorrow morning. A superb result, and could see how much it meant to Di Matteo.
And finally, a very high amount of praise to John Terry who in the post match interview referred to the terrible coach crash in Switzerland that killed 22 children and 6 adults. In the moment of such a win, to even contemplate mentioning it, huge kudos to the man!
