Samuel Eto'o scored the game's only goal with time already
ticking away from Chelsea, who saw Didier Drogba sent off after clashing
with Thiago Motta inside the final five minutes.
It was a frustrating evening at Stamford Bridge, as despite dominating
much of the possession.
It means another year of frustration in Europe, but things
could have been different had first-half penalty shouts from Drogba
and Branislav Ivanovic and Malouda been
answered.
With the tie delicately poised from the first leg in Milan
three weeks earlier, a 1-0 Chelsea win would have been enough for
progression, but an Inter goal would mean Chelsea needed
three.
Fit again Yury Zhirkov replacing the unregistered
Paulo Ferreira was the only change made
by Carlo Ancelotti to the starting 11 that
beat West Ham on Saturday, but Mourinho's side represented a
sturdier barrier to break down, and were also likelier to offer a
testing examination of third choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.
The Portuguese made just one change himself from the side
that prevailed in Lombardy, Goran Pandev replacing Dejan Stankovic,
suggesting a shift to 4-3-3 as demonstrated in the closing stages
of that first meeting.
Inter kicked off attacking the Matthew Harding end, but
the first drama of the evening came in front of the Shed, Florent Malouda blocked off by a static
Lucio on the edge of the Inter box. Nothing was given by referee
Wolfgang Stark of Germany. The mind couldn't help but wander back
to May last year, when numerous appeals were turned away as
Barcelona went through at Chelsea's expense.
Michael Ballack, one of the main
protagonists on that evening last spring, was the first to gain a
sight of goal, flashing a low drive past Julio Cesar's right-hand
post, close enough to temporarily hush a boisterous home
support.
On 16 minutes Drogba lined up a 35-yard free-kick after
Lucio had raised his foot on Malouda, his shot straight into the
wall, and then 10 minutes later the same player was denied by
Maicon as he shot from inside the area.
The Nerazzurri were limiting Chelsea's forward
play effectively, denying the Blues space and time in midfield and
not allowing the full-backs sufficient room in which to attack on
the flanks, Maicon particularly impressive against
Zhirkov.
On the front foot the Brazilian picked out an unmarked
Eto'o just after the half-hour, the Cameroonian forward in a state
of shock as the ball reached him, heading into the ground and over
the bar as Branislav Ivanovic tried to make ground
after john Terry was beaten.
In the Inter area Ivanovic was felled by a Motta tug, but
again no whistle. There was however when Alex tripped Eto'o just
over 30 yards out, making it Wesley Sneijder's turn to send a
powerful drive directly into a defensive wall.
Five minutes before the break Malouda did superbly to
wriggle inside the Inter area and create space to shoot on his
favoured left side, yet from nowhere emerged a sliding Lucio to
divert the shot away. Within a minute Nicolas Anelka also found space as
Drogba found him inside the area, but Cesar was quick to smother
the chance.
At the resultant corner Walter Samuel had both arms
wrapped around Drogba as both men went to ground, but again there
was no penalty awarded. Mourinho himself was always a fan of
conspiracies, Ancelotti and Ray Wilkins looked like they were
starting to wonder.
Half-time came and went without changes, the first action
of the second half being a yellow card for Motta after a block on
Malouda. Again Drogba lined up the dead ball, and this time his
shot did find its way through, but was far too tame to trouble
Cesar.
Inter were still threatening on the counter, and again
Eto'o could have put his side in front on the night, but allowed
Zhirkov to backtrack and remove the threat.
Malouda's low shot was turned around the post by Cesar on
51 minutes, before Stark issued three yellow cards in as many
minutes, to Malouda, Lucio and finally Drogba.
Zhirkov showed his defensive worth again just before the
hour as he challenged Goran Pandev, who had been put through by
Sneijder, and then Turnbull had to be alert to hold Diego Milito's
close range shot.
With time just beginning to ebb away, Ancelotti made his
first substitution, Joe Cole for Ballack in an unmistakably
attacking switch. In the other technical area Mourinho began to
grow animated, urging his full-backs to concentrate on defence
rather than attack.
Milito dragged a golden opportunity wide on 65 minutes
after Sneijder had caught the Chelsea sub flat-footed, stealing in
and chipping the ball beyond a Chelsea defence wrongly looking to
play offside, and then Motta headed the Dutchman's free-kick over
the bar when well placed.
Inter looked to have grasped control of the tie. With 20
minutes left what more could Chelsea offer?
Ancelotti made another sub, Zhirkov was withdrawn, Malouda
moved to left-back and Salomon Kalou introduced as another
attacking option. Mourinho countered by replacing Pandev with
Stankovic, the Serb dropping into central midfield.
Kalou's first contribution was to cut inside a challenge
and fire wide from 30 yards. Wasteful it may have been, but it at
least offered hope.
That hope was quickly diminished with 13 minutes
remaining, when another accurate Sneijder through ball, this time
from his own half, was seized upon by Eto'o. One of the best
strikers in the world, he rarely misses twice and so it proved as
he guided the ball past Turnbull and into the bottom corner, the
nearest defender Ivanovic unable to make up enough
ground.
Two goals were needed just to force extra time. Alex was
moved up front as a focal point, but before he could have any
impact Chelsea lost Drogba to a red card, after the Ivorian tangled
with Thiago Motta in the Inter area. Replays suggested very little had
gone on, though he may have trodden on the midfielder's
leg.
By now Inter were in the ascendancy, and Eto'o could have
doubled the lead in injury time, only for Turnbull to produce a
superb save to keep the deficit to one.
So another European dream ends in disappointment with
question marks over the officiating, the focus now must be on
domestic success. Ancelotti's job is to pick his men up in time for
the weekend, when valuable Premier League points are at stake at
Blackburn.
