Even before they had kicked a ball in anger, Chelsea could see that this was not going to be their day. Moments after the champions trotted out to warm up at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, the big screen in their corner of the ground flickered into life to provide inescapable evidence that the Barclays Premier League trophy had all but slipped from their grasp.
Conspiracy theorists may suggest that the screening of the final 20 minutes of Manchester United’s comeback at Upton Park was merely a ploy to drain Chelsea of spirit and hope. Perhaps it was coincidence that the broadcast began only after Wayne Rooney had put United ahead but as Petr Cech admitted, it made uncomfortable, dispiriting viewing, regardless.
“We were in the bus going to the stadium and knew they were losing 2-0,” the Chelsea goalkeeper said. “When we came out for the warm-up, we saw on the big screens. The game was on, so we knew they’d won. It’s not really the problem. We needed to concentrate on our game. We didn’t do that.”
Carlo Ancelotti was typically magnanimous , insisting that his players could not have given more. The Chelsea manager is a realist and after the game freely admitted that the club’s only real chance of silverware now is the Champions League. Wednesday’s quarter-final, first leg against United looms larger than ever.
“The Champions League is another week, another story,” he said. “We have to stay focused on that. It is our best hope of success because we are level with the other teams. We don’t have ground to make up.”
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Roman Abramovich will hope that this setback focuses minds on the trophy he has coveted for almost a decade. According to the Abramovich legend, he decided to buy a football club after watching the thrilling quarter-final, second leg between United and Real Madrid in 2003, opting for Chelsea only after they secured their place in the competition on the final day of that campaign. The irony is that the hunt for the trophy has brought him little but heartache and it may continue to do so if Chelsea perform as they did here.
For much of this match, but especially in the second half, Chelsea looked a team lacking cohesion, confidence and sustained threat; insipid, not inventive. Robert Huth had already headed over from three yards when Stoke City went ahead after eight minutes. Glenn Whelan’s hopeful clearance bounced nicely for Jonathan Walters on the halfway line, although it was David Luiz’s lackadaisical challenge that allowed the Stoke striker to burst free down the left. Walters drove into the box, cut inside Michael Essien’s desperate lunge and drilled a low shot in at the near post.
The goal shook Chelsea from their slumber. Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole went close and soon Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba found the same wavelength, threatening once before combining delightfully for the goal that put Chelsea deservedly back on terms.
Anelka dropped deep to collect a short pass from John Terry before picking out the run of his strike partner with an inch-perfect cross. Drogba applied the final touch with a stooping header.
Fernando Torres watched from the substitutes’ bench as Chelsea found renewed purpose. It was only when the £50 million man was introduced in place of Anelka on the hour that momentum swung back towards Stoke. The Spaniard continues to look like an expensive spare part in a team who are no closer to working out the best way to exploit his undoubted class. Cech produced three spectacular saves to deny Marc Wilson, Matthew Etherington and Huth, while Ricardo Fuller somehow headed wide from two yards. “We had the chances to win,” Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, said. “If we’d got beat today, it would’ve been an injustice.”
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Stoke City (4-4-2): A Begovic 6 — M Wilson 6, R Shawcross 7, R Huth 8, D Higginbotham 6 (sub: D Collins, 90min) — J Pennant 7 (sub: R Fuller, 90) , G Whelan 7 (sub: D Whitehead, 85), R Delap 6, M Etherington 7 — J Walters 8, K Jones 7. Substitutes not used: C Nash, A Wilkinson, S Diao, D Pugh. Booked: Walters. Next: Tottenham Hotspur (a).
Chelsea (4-4-2): P Cech 8 — J Bosingwa 6 (sub: B Ivanovic, 80), D Luiz 5, J Terry 6, A Cole 5 — Ramires 6 (sub: S Kalou, 61 6), M Essien 6, F Lampard 6, F Malouda 7 — N Anelka 7 (sub: F Torres, 61 6), D Drogba 8. Substitutes not used: R Turnbull, P Ferreira, J O Mikel, Y Zhirkov. Booked: Bosingwa, Cole. Next: Wigan Athletic (h).
Referee: P Walton. Attendance: 27,508