Jose Mourinho’s job is still safe at Inter, and Didier Drogba and his Chelsea teammates have reason to wonder if their old manager might be better off in his new digs far away from Stamford Bridge.
Striker Samuel Eto’o punctuated a sound effort from the visitors in the 79th minute while the Inter backline frustrated Drogba and Chelsea much of the evening, as Inter advanced to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a 1-0 win Tuesday in front of a subdued crowd at Stamford Bridge.
Though Chelsea is still alive in the FA Cup, their plans of capturing the Champions League for the first time are gone, and in surprisingly sure fashion. Inter got the best of the matchup in the first leg in Milan as well, topping Chelsea 2-1 on Feb. 24.
Mourinho -- who managed Chelsea from 2004-07 before his abrupt departure -- faced the brunt of the pressure heading into Tuesday’s second leg, and stories broke in the hours leading up to the match that the Portuguese manager would be let go if Inter came up short against his former club.
But Eto’o preserved his manager’s job security with a brilliant strike with just 11 minutes left, controlling a long ball over the top from Wesley Sneijder and hammering a right-footed blast past charging Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull for the game winner.
Tempers boiled over soon after for a frustrated Drogba, who was outmuscled in the penalty box much of the night and was taken down well off the ball by Inter defender Thiago Motta in the 86th minute. The Ivory Coast forward responded by stepping on Motta’s ankle, buckling the Inter defender and earning a straight red card that punctuated a disappointing night for the Blues in front of their home crowd.
CSKA Moscow also punched their ticket to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, using a 55th minute goal from Japanese midfielderKeisuke Honda to push past host Sevilla 2-1. Honda’s left-footed strike off a set play proved to be the difference for the Russian squad, which got on the board first with a 38th minute tally from Tomas Necid.
Sevilla’s lone tally came off the foot of Diego Perotti in the 41st minute.
Inter and CSKA Moscow join fellow quarterfinalists Manchester United, Arsenal, Lyon and Bayern Munich. Barcelona and VfB Stuttgart wrap up their series on Wednesday in Barcelona, while Bordeaux hosts Olympiakos in their finale.
