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There was much talk about Chelsea and Los Blancos in the year 2012. Chelsea came from nowhere to lift the European Cup and FA Cup, while Real Madrid wrested the La Liga title from the hands of FC Barcelona. Let us look at how these two teams performed last year.
CHELSEA:-
Chelsea started 2012 after they were ensured qualification to the Champions League knock out stages after a brace from Didier Drogba and an assist as well. But a slump of form under Andre Villas Boas led to Chelsea being in a precarious 5th position, which meant they would be in danger of losing a Champions League spot. They were also in danger of going out of the FA Cup after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Birmingham led to a replay and they were already knocked out of the League Cup by subsequent winners, Liverpool. More importantly, their Champions League ambitions also were dealt a severe blow after a first leg 3-1 loss away to Napoli. Ultimately, this led to the sacking of Andre Villas Boas and his assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, was appointed interim coach till the end of the season.
Chelsea began their turnaround under the tutelage of Di Matteo. Chelsea overcame Birmingham 2-0 away from home with goals from Juan Mata and Raul Meireles. Chelsea turned around the deficit set by Napoli after winning 4-1 at Stamford Bridge AET and eventually qualified for the quarter finals where they had to face Benfica. Chelsea started to win continuously and Torres was also back to scoring. He scored a double against Leicester City and also provided 2 assists in a 5-2 win. Torres also provided the assist for the important away goal against Benfica for Salomon Kalou. Chelsea eventually won the tie 3-1 on aggregate. Chelsea won the semi-finals of the FA Cup after thumping London rivals Tottenham 5-1 with Drogba and Lampard scoring the best goals of the tournament. Chelsea produced one of the shocks of the Champions League after beating Barcelona 1-0 at home and drawing 2-2 at the Nou Camp in the semi-finals of the Champions League . The goal scorers for Chelsea in the process were Didier Drogba, Ramires and Fernando Torres. Chelsea went on to win their 4th FA Cup in 6 years after beating Liverpool 2-1 with goals coming from Didier Drogba and Ramires. Chelsea also went on to win their first ever UEFA Champions League title after beating Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena 4-3 on penalties after the game finished 1-1 AET. Drogba scored the equalizing goal and the winning penalty which brought Chelsea fans tears and emotions. This led to Drogba, Meireles, Jose Bosingwa and Salomon Kalou leaving Chelsea and Di Matteo was given a 2-year extension.
Chelsea started the 2012-13 Premier League in flying form going 4 points clear of Manchester United after 10 games. Chelsea’s dip in form started after the controversial 3-2 loss at Stamford Bridge to Manchester United. Chelsea won only 1 of their next 8 games, a period which also saw John Terry and Frank Lampard injured. Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages after a 3-0 loss to Juventus which brought Di Matteo’s Chelsea career to an end. Rafael Benitez was appointed successor.
His reign began poorly with 2 home 0-0 draws against Manchester City and Fulham and a 3-1 loss to West Ham United. Chelsea fans continued to boo. Rafa got his first win as Chelsea manager when they thumped FC Nordsjaelland 6-1, where Torres got a double. He continued to impress but Chelsea lost to Corinthians in the FIFA Club World Cup final 1-0, a game which saw Gary Cahill being sent off. But that did not deteriorate Chelsea winning run and they went into 2013 with a 2-1 win at Everton courtesy of Frank Lampard who is rumoured to leave the club in January.
REAL MADRID:-
Real Madrid lost the Copa Del Rey quarter final tie to rivals FC Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate despite drawing 2-2 at the Nou Camp after being 2-0 down. They were 13 points clear of Barcelona and looked set for recapturing the La Liga title. But 2 draws and 3 losses later, the gap decreased only to 4 points ahead of the El Classico at the Nou Camp. In between, Real Madrid dispatched CSKA Moscow 5-2 on aggregate and APOEL Nicosia 8-2 on aggregate to advance to the UEFA Champions League semi final where they had to face four time winners, Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid eventually went on to win their first game at the Nou Camp since 2001 when a Ronaldo brace sealed the victory. It was also Pep Guardiola’s first loss against Real Madrid. Real Madrid eventually finished 9 points clear and regained the title from Barcelona.
However, Real got eliminated in the semi finals of the Champions League after losing in a penalty shootout after it finished 3-3 on aggregate AET. Hence, Jose Mourinho became the only manager to win the Portuguese League, the English League, the Italian League and the Spanish League.
But Real’s start to 2012-13 was not a good one. CR7 looked very unhappy at Real Madrid and was poised for a move outside Spain but that was forgotten as he started scoring at a regular basis and also helped Real Madrid reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. But in the league they were a huge 16 points behind leaders Barcelona. If Mourinho doesn’t progress in the Champions League then that could be the end of him as Real Madrid coach, as Barcelona are coasting in the league under Tito Vilanova.
