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UCL: Chelsea,Real through to quarter final

Published

11 years ago

March 19, 2014

He returned to a hero’s welcome but this was a night to
forget for Didier Drogba.
Feted by all those inside Stamford Bridge, Drogba stood and took in
the applause from those in Chelsea blue.
One of the greatest player’s in the club’s history, Drogba’s spot kick in
Munich, which secured the 2011 Champions League title, will never be
forgotten.
But once the presentations were over and the mutual love was
placed to one side, Drogba’s former teammates moved onto a
different stratosphere.
From the moment Samuel Eto’o gave Chelsea a fourth minute
leader, there was only one side which appeared likely to win this
contest — and unfortunately for Drogba, it was not
Galatasaray.
Gary Cahill smashed home a second just before halftime following
some dreadful defending from the visiting side to end any thoughts
Drogba may have had of a happy homecoming.
Before the game, all the talk had been about the returning
Drogba — a man loved by all at Chelsea, especially by manager,
Jose Mourinho.
The Ivorian netted 157 goals in 342 appearances during an eight-
year spell at Chelsea where he won three Premier League titles
and four FA Cups.
Mourinho believes Drogba will one day return to west London
either in a playing, coaching or ambassadorial position.
But any sign of sentimentality was swept away as soon as the
first ball was kicked.
Following the 1-1 draw in Istanbul, Chelsea wasted little time in
asserting its superiority.
A weekend defeat in the Premier League by Aston Villa in
which Ramires and Willian were both sent off, was shunted
aside as Chelsea began at rapid pace.
Oscar and Eden Hazard combined to release Eto’o and the
forward fired past Fernando Muslera to claim the 30th
Champions League goal of his career.
Chelsea, which faces Arsenal in the Premier League on
Saturday, continued to dominate and John Terry volleyed inches
over after meeting Frank Lampard’s cross.
Galatasaray’s vulnerability at set-pieces was to prove its undoing
just before the interval when Lampard’s corner picked out Terry
and when the defender’s powerful header was saved, Cahill was
quickest to react and slam home the rebound.
The Turkish side, which showed such defiance in the first leg,
failed to threaten any sort of fightback after the break with
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech a mere spectator.
Substitute Fernando Torres should have added a third after being
played through by Hazard by Muslera pulled off the save.
“It was everything we wanted it to be,” midfielder Lampard told
ITV. “It was a tough game, we got a decent result out there and
they hardly threatened.”
The midfielder is now hoping his side receives a favorable draw
in the next round with the likes of Bayern Munich and
Barcelona lurking.
“I won’t make any predictions yet,” he added. “There are number
of great teams left in it and we’ll wait and see who we get drawn
against.
“We’re confident at the minute but it’s very tough and gets tougher
every year. But we’re still in it.”
Rampant Ronaldo
In the night’s other game, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to give
Real Madrid a 3-1 home win over Schalke .
Leading 6-1 from the first leg, Ronaldo took his tally to 13 goals
in seven Champions League appearances with a classy double.
Tim Hoogland had dragged Schalke level in between Ronaldo’s
strikes before Alvaro Morata added a third.
The only sour note on the night was an injury to Jese Rodriguez,
who was taken off on a stretcher after two minutes following a
challenge from Sead Kolasinac.
“I think it is confirmed he has ruptured cruciate ligament,” Real
manager Carlo Ancelotti told reporters
“He has had bad luck and it is bad luck for Real Madrid because
we are going to lose a very important, young player who has done
very well this season and surprised everyone.”
Next up for Real is “El Clasico” with Barcelona the visitor to
Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.