After suffering a terrible loss on Friday night that reduced their lead over arch rivals Milan to just 1 point, Mourinho faces an uphill task when his side visit Stamford Bridge tomorrow night for their return leg knockout fixture of the Champions League. Carrying a 2-1 advantage into the match, Mourinho will be looking to break the hearts of Chelsea fans and ensure his side’s progressioin to the quarter finals.
There is no doubt that Chelsea has a special place in Mourinho’s heart and it will be exciting to see how his re-union with Lampard and Drogba plays out. This is what Mourinho had to say about his days as a Chelsea manager,
“They are wonderful days and this is why it is so hard for me to leave people like Drogba behind at Chelsea. I wanted to bring him with me to Inter, but they would never allow this and now we have to play against each other.”
Although affectionate to Drgoba and Lampard, Mourinho does not feel quite the same way to his opposite number Carlo Ancelotti. Sworn enemies when managing Milan heavyweights Inter and AC Milan, Mourinho is yet to bury the hatchet with Ancelotti. Mourinho knows all to well that the hope of the entire nation rests on the shoulders of his squad. After the countries other representatives Milan and Fiorentina were bundled out of the tournament last week, Inter have a point to prove when they face the blues tomorrow.
It is no secret that the Serie A has been losing its appeal at a very alarming rate over the years and it is this trend that Mourinho wants to end. In fact, the state of Italian football has declined to an extent that they are no longer considered a threat in the European tournament.
“We go to Stamford Bridge with a realistic chance to progress and thisis already a step forward for Inter. This club has not won too often at this stage of the Champions League in recent, but suddenly we win a game against a top side like Chelsea.Maybe the confidence we can take from our victory in the first leg can give us the inspiration to we need to go through and don’t forget that all the pressure is on our opponent. They have to find the goal ro else we are in the next round.”
That is very true, all the pressure is on Chelsea. They have to score to have a chance of going through to the quarters. The Nerazzurri have probably learnt from their deadly mistakes on Friday that cost dearly. Inter will be safe if they play out a draw however, Mourinho only has one intention and that is to win and that is why I predict a 1-0 win in favour of Inter.
