Internazionale vs Chelsea 2 – 1 (Milito, Kalou, Cambiasso)
CSKA Moskva vs Sevilla 1 – 1 (Negredo, Gonzáles)
So much for the prediction! Chelsea fell apart at the back as Inter shifted the ball around with consummate ease to begin the game. D.Milito wandered into the box in the third minute of the game. He received a pass , took a touch inside to put Terry out of the running and finished near post against Petr Cech. A very poor start from the all-star blues. Drogba hit a couple of stonkers in the first half, one of which pinged off the underside of the crossbar (which nearly broke) and bounced fortunately for Internazionale. Chelsea had grounds for a penalty claim in the dying minutes of the first half: Kalou worked his way into the box to take enough of a clip, (from behind, no less), on the right boot to warrant going down. The incident was recorded as a dive.
The beginning of the second half saw Ivanovic striding to the end of Cesar’s 18 yard box. He managed to drop a pass to waiting Kalou who pushed his shot through the defensive forest of legs and into the goal. The shot was nothing spectacular, nor was the goalkeeping effort. One all.
4 minutes later Cambiasso smashed a shot that sat Cech down without touching the ball – a deflection threw the ball back down Cambiasso’s throat, and he re-adjusted quickly enough to take advantage. The orange-suited keeper could only watch as the ball made it’s way into the far corner. Minutes later he plucked a non-threatening cross from the air then slipped awkwardly in the process of rolling the ball out. It seems that he may have torn his calf muscle and may be in doubt for the return leg. Scans later in the week will reveal more details as things go from bad to worse for Chelsea. 2 – 1 to Inter, but Chelsea have the luxury of an away goal. They will take victory if they can win 1 – 0 at home next month.
In the earlier game Sevilla managed to come as close to winning as possible without actually winning! It was CSKA that scored first with a low cross finished simply by Negredo. But Sevilla grabbed hold of a priceless away goal in the shape of Gonzáles hitting a peach from 30 yards or so. The CSKA keeper Andrés Palop could only stand and watch as the shot zipped in at shoulder height, just inside the right upright (as the striker looks at the goal).
All of these teams meet again at 8.45 on 16th March. The Round of 16 gives way on the following day and the quarter finals begin 2 weeks later on the 30th March.