The Moscow Jinx - Lokomotiv Moscow 1(5) - 1(4) Chelsea

Scorers: Essien( 26'), Kambolov(84')

Starting Eleven:
Cech
Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, A. Cole
Essien, Obi, Lampard, Deco
J. Cole, Anelka.

John Terry bravely steps upto take the penalty. Ronaldo had missed his and it was now Chelsea's trophy to lose. The Blues' captain, one of the greatest servants of the club adjusts the position of the ball and steps back to wait for the referee's whistle. Terry hit towards his right and Edwin Van der Sar was wrong footed,  but.... Memories came flooding back as Chelsea lost another penalty shoot-out, though this one far less important, far less significant. Moscow doesn't seem to be a happy hunting ground for the Blues. After leading for 84'mins in the match, Lokomotiv equaled, and then won in the penalties.

Chelsea started well with Essien in attacking mood and Deco looked classy and impressive. Ferreira and Ashley played high up in the park, and the attacking style with short passing and good tempo looked impressive. Essien looked more and more dangerous from a Lokomotiv point of view, and finally at 27', Essien hit a wonderful left-footed volley in the Lokomotiv net. Minutes later Deco's splendid volley went wide. Cech wasn't troubled throughout the first half. Chelsea thoroughly deserve the lead and the only negative for us was that Mikel got himself booked for a clumsy challenge. Possession was dominated by Chelsea.

Wright-Phillips and Malouda came on for J.Cole and Mikel Obi in the second half, and Essien quit his attacking role. Carvalho was seen coming forward often and also looked dangerous in corners. Lokomotiv brought in a new striker and they played better than the first half. Anelka looked in better form than we have seen, and he linked well with Lampard. He was replaced though with Shevchenko coming on for him, and Sheva received a warm welcome from the Moscow crowd. Malouda played well to put in few crosses but the players inside the box failed to capitalize.

Cech was beaten by a Kambolov shot in the 84th minute. Scores tied and a penalty looked ominous. Cech kept Chelsea alive in the match with a fine save as Lokomotiv players took advantage of the Blues' who started showing signs of fatigue. Cech saved the first penalty as Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Deco and Essien scored to take a 3-4 advantage. Lokomotiv made it 4-4, and the score remained so as Bridge failed to score our last penalty. Shevchenko shot was saved in the sudden death after Lokomotiv scores theirs, as Chelsea confirm their birth to play AC Milan in the losers final on Sunday. It baffles me as to why Bridge was asked to take the penalty when Malouda or even Terry could have taken it. It would have been a great thing for Terry to score and win the match, and thus to redeem himself. So that's the story of the fifth penalty shoot-out we have lost  in a row now.