Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 0:JOHN TERRY joked that a four-hour flight to Russia and an artificial pitch is just what he needs at a time when he is suffering with his back, although the Chelsea captain's pain could be mental as well as physical when he runs out at the Luzhniki Stadium tomorrow night.
Chelsea’s Champions League game against Spartak Moscow forces Terry to revisit the scene of the infamous missed penalty he still refuses to watch.
It was almost two and a half years ago that he lost his footing at the most inopportune moment, steering wide the spot-kick that would have seen Chelsea crowned Champions League winners for the first time.
The England international returned to Moscow on a pre-season tour a couple of months later, but tomorrow will be the first time he has set foot in the ground he departed looking like a broken man in the early hours of a sodden May morning in 2008.
“I haven’t (watched the penalty), but there will be a day (when I do). But I don’t want to go back and touch over it. I feel as though I have got it out of my system now. I just want to win the competition,” Terry said. “Going back, people are going to bring things up, but we are going back there to pick up three points. It is a tough place to go.”
Terry could do without the trip, not least because of the discomfort in his back, which forced him to withdraw from England duty last week before the pain eased enough for him to play against Aston Villa. But in the absence of key personnel, including Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who both missed the Villa fixture and will also play no part tomorrow, Terry has little option at the moment. “At times like this, when we are down to the bare bones, I am fit to play,” he said.
His injury is not serious, but Terry said he is in the gym every morning to “manage” the problem. “When I did my back, friends and family asked whether it was from the original operation, five years ago. It is not. I have jarred my back. Rio (Ferdinand) has had back problems, and when you are fit and then miss a game people think your back has gone again. I am going to pick up knocks, like everyone does, but the main thing is I manage it myself.”
It is certainly easy to understand why Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, was so keen for Terry to play at Villa Park. With Salomon Kalou, Alex and Daniel Sturridge absent – all three could be back to face Spartak for a game in which Michael Essien is expected to be rested – along with Drogba and Lampard, Chelsea’s squad looked alarmingly thin. Ancelotti gave Gael Kakuta his full Premier League debut and named four substitutes – Jeffrey Bruma, Fabio Borini, Jacob Mellis and Josh McEachran – who had never started a top-flight match.
“I feel with one or two injuries, we will have to call on the kids. But everyone needs a chance,” Terry said. “The club have been stressing the importance of bringing young players through. The young players around the place are bouncing around because they believe they have a real chance if they do the business in the reserves.”
McEachran was introduced here but nearly gifted Villa three points when Nigel Reo-Coker dispossessed him in injury-time. Reo-Coker, however, never looked comfortable as he bore down on goal and the chance was squandered. It was a common theme.
Villa’s Stephen Ireland and John Carew were also guilty of profligacy, while Nicolas Anelka somehow headed Ashley Cole’s cross against the woodwork when it appeared easier to score.
On another day Villa would have probably regarded this as a missed opportunity but with Emile Heskey, Marc Albrighton and Luke Young ruled out on the eve of the match and Richard Dunne lasting only 13 minutes, Gerard Houllier was entitled to be happy with the result as well as signs that the players are embracing his desire to pass from the back.
“The players look as though they really want to play like that,” said the Villa manager.
Guardian Service
