Have you recovered from that disastrous night? Well, you might say you never will. At least a night’s sleep should have brought a lot of sense. I couldn’t write the match reaction post after the match. So now, after more 24 hours from the defeat, I look back at the match, its key moments and what this result could and should mean to us.

Lampard agreed that this result has been more devastating for his colleagues than for himself. That’s not because he’s signed a new contract yet but that’s because of the personal tragedy he had to endure in the last few weeks. Only in light of these ‘real’ tragedies would you realise ‘it’s just a game’. Well, I’m not planning say this everytime we lose but I’d have to say this when some of us are upset like crazy. Once again quoting JM “pressure . . pressure of what? pressure if for millions of parents who can’t feed their children”.

Talking about the match, there were few key decisions from our side which turned the course of the match. You might know that I’m not a fan Essien playing in right back when we have two right backs who have won the champions league, one of them even scoring the winner in the final. Essien could never cope with Ronaldo and if there was any doubt or debate the goal must have sealed it. Essien was watching the ball without realising that he is a right back, defending an incoming cross, marking the best premier league player who has scored 41 goals till then. And then, Malouda has been decent of late but did his recent performance merit a champions league final appearance? Was I the only one that thought he was the Essien’s counterpart in attack – weak link?

The first half belonged to Man Utd. They had some great chances to go 2-0 up. Chelsea were not in the game for the first 30 minutes. When Chelsea started involving themselves in the match, we came closer. I admit there was an element of luck in Lampard’s equaliser but this game won’t be complete that ‘element of luck’ that was there all through the match, until the final minute. Credit should go to Lampard for again being in the right place at the right time. That was a good finish. If the half had ended 1-0 to Man Utd, it could have been a different game in the second half. The equaliser was really crucial that Chelsea played with some confidence in the second half.

Second half belonged to Chelsea. Man Utd were played off the park. No, this is not a biased statement. Man Utd were simply chasing shadows. Chelsea’s domination was not only in terms of chances and shots but more in terms of controlling the game. Man Utd could not string three passes together in the second half while Chelsea were playing so fluidly as if they were playing a mid-tabler at home. Despite controlling the game well, Chelsea could not force saves from van der sar. But we were always threatening Man Utd and kept Sir Alex’s heart in his mouth. Drogba hit the post with a fantastic shoot and Lampard finding all the time in the world, within the box, to turn about 360 degrees and shoot the ball clear of van der sar. When Lampard was preparing for that shot, I was already celebrating.

I’m now genuinely worried about Joe Cole. He was playing superbly in a few matches but his performance of late, for the last couple of months has been mediocre. Is he back to his inconsistent form. Is going to be unreliable again? How can he play so poorly in a champions league final? He must have been waiting for this for many many years and then he delivers this performance. I’m worried.

In the extra time, it was a much more even match, both teams coming out strongly and playing for a win. Towards the 5 to 10 minutes, both teams were willing to go to the penalties and that was evident. Terry made that characteristic clearance which simply personifies him. And it was then, Drogba got himself a red card. He gave no chance to the referee. It was not a difficult decision to send him off. There has been a lot of criticism on Drogba that he behaved in a manner that saw him off and also made himself unavailable for the penaly shoot out that was to follow just 5 minutes later.

I do not support Drogba’s actions. He let us down. Any player who gets a red card, lets his team down. At least I don’t think he was carelessly irresponsible. I thought he let his emotions take control of him. I realised one thing. It was not an action of someone who did not care about Chelsea. It was not an action of someone who wants to impress other clubs with his ‘supposed’ last match for this club. It was certainly not an action of someone who was selfish and wanted the winners’ medal so that he can improve his CV. If he had his mind on any of these, he’d not have involved in the whole fracas. He’d gone ahead with his football. What he did was not at all intelligent but surely he was not planning to let us down with carelessness.

It is an open secret that Drogba thrives in a 4-4-2 formation. He was at his best when we play him along with another striker. After his fantastic season in 4-4-2, he had to be the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation where the wingers were dishing out sub standard performances. I was still hoping that Chelsea plays 4-4-2 in the final with Drogba and Shevchenko. I see Fergie playing Scholes and Giggs ahead of Anderson and Nani, even though those portuguese are better than the seniors as of now. I also see Malouda and Kalou being played ahead of players like Shevchenko, Belletti and Ferreira.

You might say that if Terry had buried it, all this would not have mattered and all these decisions would have been justified. No. Had we got the right formation and right players, we might have won the match in full time. Clearly, Man Utd could not handle Chelsea when the Blues get their act together. We were too strong int he second half and we could have even finished the match in the second half. Imagine Essien being available in the midfield, Shevchenko being available with Drogba, and add it our performance in the second half.

When the match went to penalties I was not too happy for two reasons. One is, we deserved to close it out in full time or at least extra time. The other is, I don’t remember when we last won a penalty shoot out. After the forgettable shoot out at the community shield, it was great to see four of our shots go in. For a couple of them I had to wait to see the net disturbed but anyway they found the net. Something told me, I was even telling my mate, that Ronaldo would mess it up. It was a poor shot with not enough power. The first penalty save in many months (years?) from Petr Cech happened to be that of Cristiano Ronaldo. Not bad. Then came the big moment of the match.

When Terry walked up to the spot, I’d have bet my house on him burying it. The only way he was going to miss it was some cursed ill-luck, that’s what exactly happened. I can say that it is common sense to check the boots, studs, ball placement and the tightness of the soil before taking any penalty. It appeared that Terry wanted to get over that moment as soon as possible. He wanted that big relief and ecstasy without any delay. He was over-anxious. He had all he guts to take the penalty but he was a bit over-anxious. He sent the keeper to the wrong side, he slipped, he missed. The ball could have rolled ever so slowly to the right corner but it was a few feet off target. I won’t blame Terry. Even if Drogba were to take that kick, you can’t say he would not have slipped. Not hitting the target, not deceiving the keeper etc may be ‘footballistic’ reasons where different players handle situations differently. To slip on wet soil was ‘misfortunistic’ than ‘footballistic’.

I’m really sorry for Terry that it had to happen for him, of all people. It could have happened to anyone, but not him. When he was stepping up, so many things would have come to his mind. It is Moscow, Roman is watching, thosands of Chelsea fans are cheering, their first champions league final in their history, could be the last match for some of his dear colleagues, have just lost the league title on the last day – so many things. At hind sight, someone with less weight on his shoulders (with same passion) could have done a neater job? Hind sight is a nice thing. If we were to win the champions league on penalties, I don’t want anyone other than John Terry to take the winning kick.

Okay, we have lost it this season but champions league comes every season and we have the team to win it soon. When we lost the shoot out I could imagine how Milan would have felt after dominating Liverpool and finally losing it in the shoot out. To lose a 3-0 lead and subsequently losing the finals is much more disastrous than what happened to us on Wednesday night. Didn’t Milan come back and win the title, against the very opposition that they lost to? That’s what I want to see Chelsea do.

The thing that now worries me is, how long will Terry take to recover from this trauma and what impact will this have on him? Some say that it’s good that he does not have play in the Euro and he can holiday his ill memories out. I feel it would have been better if he is to play in the Euro. Between now and the start of the next season, it helps if he plays more football and which forces him to concentrate on something else other than that dark moment. Who knows, may be, England will manufacture an even more disappointing moment that helps him overcome that champions league shoot out! Italian fans say that, Shevchenko has not been the same footballer since he missed the penalty shoot out kick against Liverpool in Istanbul. Such can be the impact of these mishaps. All said, I’m sure Terry can come back strongly. He is a man of guts, determination and strength.

In the drama around John Terry’s miss, what escapes the media and fans attention is the bad miss by Anelka. May be that’s his style but he walked up and took the kick as if it was at Cobham. He delivered a bad shot and when van der Sar saved his shot, Anelka’s reaction was not that great. Again, may be that’s his style but he did not look too worried or upset about that. I don’t want him to break out crying but his reaction was an odd one out from that of the rest of the team. Despite what his agent says, Anelka never struck me as someone who is hungry for success. May be he is too philosophical.

Overall, I’m proud of these players. I’m proud of the way we played the ‘champions of Europe’ off the park for good part of the match. The spirit and effort shown by each one of our players certainly deserved the title.

Finally, congratulations to Man Utd. They were deserving champions. Though we put in a great performance in the finals, I cannot forget the fact that we were fortunate to be in the finals in the first place. It hurts to see us coming second in three competitions and losing the other to Barnsley when the route ahead was quite clear of troubles. JM said, “in football, there is no such thing called ‘almost there’”. Why am I quoting JM so much these days? He seemed to have made the best quotes for all seasons. Coming second might look like coming close enough to win it. I always believe that the gap between the champions and the runner-up than what we can see in the table or statistics. That’s why being runner-up in three championship does not equal winning one championship. It is quite possible to end up second every single season without winning the title.

The season is over. Time to measure up Grant? Credit to him for over-achieving but I can’t help but say he lost at least two trophies this season that he should have won. May be Roman would keep him for another season but if I were him, I’d move Grant upstairs and bring a good young manager who is desparately hungry for success. Season is over. Let’s talk Euro 2008 now. I’ll tell you who I’m supporting and why.

And yes, you want to know how I’d get over this finals disappointment? Just getting Grand Theft Auto 4 on XBOX 360. I’ll go gunning down innocent people and criminals alike, driving after booze and dope like I’m in god mode and make some dirty money in my new career. Should put me at peace.