Chelsea manager Avram Grant has been reflecting on his side’s defeat in the UEFA Champions League final on penalties to Premiership rivals Manchester United in Moscow on Wednesday. The Israeli who took over as the manager of the London Blues only in Septemer was obviously in a dejected mood but amidst the bleeding obvious of despondency, he did spray some rays of optimism too.
The final between Chelsea and Manchester United ended 1-1 after extra-time and Chelsea at one point was leading the penalty shootout. Then capatain John Terry missed his kick which allowed Man United to come back and when Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka missed teh decisive spot-kick, Man United had triumphed.
Grant said after the match:
“What can I say? In the beginning we dominated the game, as we have two times before, and then we lost on penalties He was slipping over, but John Terry is the main thing that we are here for.
“We had a terrible - not terrible - difficult time but he was part of us, so we are not sorry for him, but for the team.
“The team were excellent, I’m very proud of them.
“But Terry? He was great. He was great, obviously, and great in the semi-final, and in this game. He’s the reason they didn’t create almost any chances in the game.
“Frank Lampard - yes, he was good. Also, Didier had chances of course, but…
“It’s not the last time for Chelsea in this final.
Reflecting further on John Terry’s miss and its implications for Chelsea, Avram Grant observed:
“I cannot tell you that I am happy now or in the next daysI cannot tell you that I am happy now or in the next days.
“It is very hard to lose on penalties, especially when after the first 30 minutes we dominated the game.
“We hit the post, we hit the bar, we had many more shots than them and even in the shoot-out, we came to the last penalty and it was in our legs.
“John didn’t say anything afterwards. He was very sad, he cried, but he is the main reason we were here in this Final.
“It was not a normal season. We had many problems at the beginning and he took responsibility, as he did today to take the last penalty - but unfortunately it has happened.
“But John is still a great player and a great captain - and he was fantastic again today, the reason why they didn’t create many chances.
“Nicolas was good for us this season when we needed him most - and with penalties, even Ronaldo, who is Man United’s best penalty taker.”
But now there’s considerable douby on whether Chelsea owner Roman Avramovich would like Grant to continue or not. Chelsea were until very recently in the hunt for both the Premiership title and the European Cup crown but have ended barrern handed.