A victory in a defeat?

Consipracy theory? Chelsea lost to Werder Bremen while ensuring that we progress to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. If you ask me how do I value this result, I would say, not many times, a defeat would put you in a situation of this comfort. Though Terry says that Chelsea were committed, I saw the players less motivated than usual and not playing to their best.

That was natural when you have 10 points after 4 games and your last match is at home against one Levski Sofia. I was reminded of the last two matches that we lost in the last season after we clinched the title. Jose did not look too worried either and feels that he lost another game of football.

I should admit that I was ignorant of the possibility that Chelsea can lose this match against Bremen and still progress to the last 16. I dont think any of the news websites realised this either.

No Chelsea goal, for the first time in a Chelsea match this season. So, just enjoy the highlights:

[youtube]oGbLm66QKRo[/youtube]

Once again, conspiracy theory? Killer strategy. As a simple football fan, I would like to see Barca progress to the last 16 as much as I want Man Utd to progress. Last season, to see Man Utd eliminated at group stage was very unfortunate. But now, if I were Jose Mourinho, what would I do. Without a doubt, I would prefer losing to Bremen in a small margin such as 1-0.

The reason is, based on quality and form, the only teams that can oust Chelsea in the later stages of the competition are Barcelona and may be Lyon. Now, given a choice, I would play the final against Lyon instead of Barca. In this context, if I get an opportunuty to dump Barca and clear my road, I would take it with both hands. Certainly, if Barca become the first defending champions to be eliminated at group stage, this would increase Chelsea’s probability of winning the crown.

Well, is this sportsmanship? Yes, why not. If playing to defeat an opponent in a match is sportsmanship, playing to eliminate an opponent from the playing field is also sportsmanship. That shows you have the luxury of choosing your opponent and you have put yourself in such a comfortable situation. The obvious reason why Jose would not say the press that he would lose to Bremen to see off Barca, is bad publicity. I’m sure the press would come jumping on us, had he even hinted about this.

Deco has put Barca’s position in perspective (he said this before the Levski match):

The Chelsea results have obviously made things harder than they should have been for us, but thankfully we still have our fate in our own hands. We now face two huge games against Levski Sofia and Bremen and if we win these two finals, we go through. I’m not thinking about what Bremen might or might not do when they play Chelsea. We must focus on ourselves. We have to forget past achievements.

Everything is on the line and the best Barca has to turn up. Of course, the Bremen game is the big one and it won’t be easy. No one here is contemplating elimination. I can’t imagine Barca not being in the second round draw and once there, we all start afresh with a clean slate. What’s gone before, doesn’t count for much. Then it’s all about getting it right in, hopefully, seven sudden-death games.

I like his attitude. He says he is least worried about what Bremen does against Chelsea. He clearly notices what has made the difference was the Chelsea’s results against Barca and not the Chelsea’s results against Bremen. If at all Barca gets eliminated at the group stage and if anyone tells me that Chelsea played a major role in that by losing to Bremen, I would strongly disagree, because Chelsea played a major role by taking 4 points of the two matches against Barca and thats what should have hurt Barca.

All said, Barca has all the quality in them to just laugh off this whole thing by beating Bremen with a good margin. But the fact would remain that they are psychologically shaken. I care a damn of people talking of conspiracy theories. I should say, we beat them on and off the pitch. Hats off to Jose!

[tags] Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Barcelona, Barca, Jose Mourinho, UEFA Champions League, Champions League, Levski Sofia, Lyon, Manchester United[/tags]

You know what, the official website of Chelsea FC has got a much-awaited face-lift I was longing for. Do visit and be pleasantly surprised!