Last laugh for Jose after win

LONDON – Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory has cut Manchester United’s season down to size by denying the Premier League champions a Double at Wembley.

Second best to United in the league, Chelsea showed no desire to try and outscore their opponents in Saturday’s often tedious 1-0 win after extra time at the new stadium. Instead, Jose Mourinho’s men made it clear from the start they would deny United the space which Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney need to really thrive; even if it meant turning a potential game of stylish cut and thrust into trench warfare.Ronaldo, a triple Player of the Year award winner, lacked his usual inspiration and was kept quiet by the marking of Portugal team mate Paulo Ferreira.Rooney was a far bigger threat and his occasional runs at the Chelsea area were one of the few highlights of the game.Yet even the England striker found it hard to threaten a Chelsea rearguard which was being shielded not just by Claude Makelele but also by the impressive John Obi Mikel.Mikel, who turned 20 only a few weeks before the final, had looked set to join United until a transfer wrangle ended with the Nigerian moving to Stamford Bridge in 2006.On Saturday, he showed what United had missed out on by being an incisive ball winner with great distribution, and who could also ghost past Paul Scholes at will.”For me, a kid was the king of the game,” was Mourinho’s verdict.šHe controlled the game like he wanted, he had the ball all the time, he passed it and he controlled the pace and possession of the game.”For me, Mikel was unbelievable.”The other ace in Mourinho’s hand was Didier Drogba, whose two goals had won Chelsea the League Cup final against Arsenal three months previously and who had just finished the Premier League season as its top scorer with 20 goals.The Ivorian duly steered home the winner, his 33rd and final goal of a fantastic season, to leave Mourinho and the Blues fans wondering what might have been.”I’m not a magician, I cannot predict things,” said Mourinho as he looked back on an injury-hit campaign “But if we did this with players limping and losing an important player every week, we can ask — what would Chelsea’s season be if Petr Cech was not out for four months, if John Terry was not out …if Ricardo Carvalho was not out …with (Michael) Essien playing central defender and (Arjen) Robben and Ashley Cole playing limping.”What could Chelsea’s season be without these problems?” Saturday’s triumph clearly set a marker down for next season and United can expect a rougher ride if Chelsea are not cursed by the same injury luck, notably with keeper Cech.However, Chelsea are bound to pay a price when the African Nations Cup takes Drogba, compatriot Salomon Kalou, Mikel and Essien to the latter’s native Ghana during January and February.Saturday left United manager Alex Ferguson bloodied but unbowed, and clinging to their first league title since 2003.Nampa-ReutersInstead, Jose Mourinho’s men made it clear from the start they would deny United the space which Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney need to really thrive; even if it meant turning a potential game of stylish cut and thrust into trench warfare.Ronaldo, a triple Player of the Year award winner, lacked his usual inspiration and was kept quiet by the marking of Portugal team mate Paulo Ferreira.Rooney was a far bigger threat and his occasional runs at the Chelsea area were one of the few highlights of the game.Yet even the England striker found it hard to threaten a Chelsea rearguard which was being shielded not just by Claude Makelele but also by the impressive John Obi Mikel.Mikel, who turned 20 only a few weeks before the final, had looked set to join United until a transfer wrangle ended with the Nigerian moving to Stamford Bridge in 2006.On Saturday, he showed what United had missed out on by being an incisive ball winner with great distribution, and who could also ghost past Paul Scholes at will.”For me, a kid was the king of the game,” was Mourinho’s verdict.šHe controlled the game like he wanted, he had the ball all the time, he passed it and he controlled the pace and possession of the game.”For me, Mikel was unbelievable.”The other ace in Mourinho’s hand was Didier Drogba, whose two goals had won Chelsea the League Cup final against Arsenal three months previously and who had just finished the Premier League season as its top scorer with 20 goals.The Ivorian duly steered home the winner, his 33rd and final goal of a fantastic season, to leave Mourinho and the Blues fans wondering what might have been.”I’m not a magician, I cannot predict things,” said Mourinho as he looked back on an injury-hit campaign “But if we did this with players limping and losing an important player every week, we can ask — what would Chelsea’s season be if Petr Cech was not out for four months, if John Terry was not out …if Ricardo Carvalho was not out …with (Michael) Essien playing central defender and (Arjen) Robben and Ashley Cole playing limping.”What could Chelsea’s season be without these problems?” Saturday’s triumph clearly set a marker down for next season and United can expect a rougher ride if Chelsea are not cursed by the same injury luck, notably with keeper Cech.However, Chelsea are bound to pay a price when the African Nations Cup takes Drogba, compatriot Salomon Kalou, Mikel and Essien to the latter’s native Ghana during January and February.Saturday left United manager Alex Ferguson bloodied but unbowed, and clinging to their first league title since 2003.Nampa-Reuters