CHELSEA are back. This was the night they signalled their return as a European football force.
The pain of the Champions League final defeat against Manchester United in Moscow last May has been eating away all season.
But this destruction of Liverpool, masterminded by tactically-astute boss Guus Hiddink, has got Chelsea and their fans believing they can win the trophy in Rome.Even the might of Barcelona in a likely semi-final will not scare them.
Hiddink is apparently known as Lucky Guus in his native Holland but there was nothing fortunate about this.
The wily Dutchman stuck the outstanding Michael Essien on Steven Gerrard and cut out Liverpool’s supply line.
Gerrard has never been so quiet. He usually rules the roost but he barely got a kick.
And two of Chelsea’s goals came from cleverly-worked set-pieces scored by a man who Liverpool would never have singled out as a major threat — defender Branislav Ivanovic.
The Serb had not netted for Chelsea since his £8million move 15 months ago but he twice headed in from corners as the visitors recovered from going behind to a Fernando Torres strike.
Didier Drogba provided the Blues with an extra cushion, sliding home the third after failing to convert three good chances.
So many times Liverpool have flourished on European nights at Anfield. There is a special atmosphere about these occasions which brings the best out of their players.
But they were blown away and it will take a miracle to turn this around now.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez claimed if his side lost this tie it would be a worry for Manchester United because they could concentrate on trying to beat them in the Premier League title race.
But this defeat was so comprehensive you feel Liverpool’s confidence must have taken a significant hit. These two were meeting for a fifth successive year in the competition and not many before had been classics.
But the game was surprisingly entertaining and it was the home side who took an early grip, taking the lead after panic in the Chelsea defence.
Alex was forced into a high clearance and Dirk Kuyt seized on the loose ball before feeding it wide to Alvaro Arbeloa.
The cross picked out Torres in acres of space and he crisply swept it in with his right foot for his 12th goal of an injury-hit season.
However, Chelsea were almost back on level terms when Drogba squandered the first of his openings as his shot was blocked by Pepe Reina.
Then, when Drogba found Florent Malouda, the Frenchman’s drive was inches wide.
Drogba was a handful but he was cursing himself on 29 minutes. He collected a pass from Michael Ballack, slipped yet still recovered quickly enough to shrug off Jamie Carragher.
But, with the goal in his sights, Drogba volleyed over.
It was difficult to imagine this finishing 1-0 with it being so open and, on 39 minutes, Chelsea finally equalised.
Malouda’s corner floated to the edge of the six-yard box and Ivanovic made a run from deep to head in unchallenged.
Petr Cech immediately denied Kuyt but Drogba was never out of the action and he capitalised on Aurelio’s loose ball in the 51st minute to burst into the box and shoot past Reina, only for Carragher to brilliantly clear off the line.
On the hour, Blues skipper John Terry challenged for a 50-50 ball with Reina and both ended up on the ground.
Terry was adjudged to have fouled and collected a yellow to rule him out of the return.
As the man who missed the penalty which would have won Chelsea the Champions League a year ago, Terry wants to make amends more than anyone but his absence should not matter.
The amazing Ivanovic story continued as he climbed unchallenged to head in Lampard’s corner and give Chelsea a crucial second on 62 minutes.
Then, five minutes later, Drogba got the goal his industry fully deserved as he slid in to convert Malouda’s low cross.
This was the Chelsea that owner Roman Abramovich has always wanted, not just effective but a pleasure to watch.
If only he could work out a way to keep Hiddink.
