Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League after a humbling 3-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, with Diego Simeone’s side setting up a mouth-watering final against city rivals Real Madrid in Lisbon on May 24.
Former Rojiblancos captain Fernando Torres gave Jose Mourinho’s side a dream start as he netted on 36 minutes, but Adrian struck a minute before half-time to give the visitors a vital away goal.
Mourinho responded early in the second half by replacing Ashley Cole with Samuel Eto’o, though that proved to be a costly switch: the striker foolishly fouled Diego Costa in the box just before the hour, with the Atletico star emphatically dispatching his spot kick after a lengthy delay which saw him booked.
David Luiz hit the post with a header soon afterwards, but with 20 minutes remaining Arda Turan wrapped up the tie as he tapped home on the rebound after Mark Schwarzer tipped his initial header onto the bar.
Both sides were cautious from the off after a goalless first leg, but the hosts were almost dealt a blow less than 10 minutes in when when Koke’s volleyed cross hit the bar and post.
In truth there were few chances for the majority of the half with neither side allowing the other a chance to net an early goal, but the hosts struck first through an former Atleti legend.
Willian showed trickery on the right wing to beat two players before finding Torres with a low cross, who steered the ball home via a deflection off of Miranda.
The former Atletico captain refused to celebrate scoring against his old club, but the travelling fans were delighted a minute before half-time as Juanfran pulled back a Tiago cross for Adrian to scuff home a vital volley.
The London side were forced to start chasing the game, and Costa won and netted Atleti’s second of the night from the penalty spot before Turan’s easy tap-in, leaving Mourinho failing to progress beyond the semi-finals with Chelsea on three occasions.
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