Ahead of next month’s match between Chelsea and Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge, we start our three-part feature looking at the big stories behind the Italian side’s only previous visit to SW6.
Chelsea’s final match before the start of our 2024/25 campaign will see us host Inter on Sunday 11 August, when the reigning Italian champions will come to Stamford Bridge for the first time in 15 years, and only the second of all time.
With tickets for that match now on general sale, we begin our recap of that only earlier meeting between the two sides at the Bridge, when Inter arrived with a 2-1 lead for the second leg of our Champions League last-16 tie in 2009/10.
Not much went wrong during that brilliant Blues campaign, but our exit from the Champions League at the hands of Inter was one of the few disappointments along the way in what was, at the time, the most successful season in Chelsea’s history
Few people will have felt the pain of that defeat more than head coach Carlo Ancelotti. Although he was in his first year with the Blues, his long association with AC Milan as a player and a manager meant any match against their city rivals was always going to carry a bit of extra spice.
That was demonstrated by the constant taunts the visiting Italian supporters directed at ‘Carletto’ throughout.
The Champions League had also become his specialty, having lifted the trophy a total of four times between his playing and management careers in Milan (he has since added a further three titles with Real Madrid).
Going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge, Ancelotti had spoken about the match as a huge moment in the context of Chelsea’s season as a whole, as well as the importance of Salomon Kalou’s away goal in the first match at San Siro, meaning a 1-0 win on home soil would be enough to reach the quarter-finals.
‘This club has been to the semi-finals of the Champions League five times in six years and also to one final, so I understand and feel the importance of it,’ he said. ‘I also know from my own experience that this is a special competition. I want to continue this good record with Chelsea.
‘I enjoy the atmosphere on nights like this and it is always nice to be involved in big European games. I want to say again that our supporters were fantastic in San Siro and I hope that there will be the same passion and singing here tonight.’
However, we were up against a resilient Inter side managed by Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese boss had shown he knows everything there is to know about setting up a team to defend and counter-punch while winning two Premier League titles at Chelsea, meaning the Blues knew full well the difficult task ahead when he returned to the Bridge for the first time as an opponent.
That was the way it turned out. Inter arrived with a well drilled and defense-minded line-up, seven very experienced men creating a deep wall while attempting to use their front three to hit us on the break. Despite plenty of possession, our attempts to breach that wall were repeatedly frustrated, including two strong penalty appeals by Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic being waved away.
Then Samuel Eto’o scored to make our task even tougher – meaning we needed three goals to progress – and our chances were already all but over when Drogba was sent off late on after clashing with Thiago Motta. We were out in the last 16 for the first time since 2006, when Eto’o had also been on the scoresheet against us, that time for Barcelona.
‘A penalty is when the referee whistles. The referee didn't whistle so I don't want to comment,’ reflected Ancelotti, who refused to use criticism of the officials or Inter’s defensive tactics as an excuse.
'It did not surprise me how Inter lined up because that was how they played in the last 30 minutes in San Siro. Inter played a very good game.
‘They put strong pressure on the pitch on our midfielders so we were not able to play how we wanted. Inter deserved to win. We were never in full control. There was only a short period when we could control the game. We could have played better.'
For his part, Mourinho underlined that there were no hard feelings towards his former club and that he took no pleasure in their exit, even if he was overjoyed at the progress of his own side, which would ultimately go on to win the competition that season.
'I am not happy because my ex-players lost, I am not happy because Chelsea supporters go home sad. I am happy with our happiness, not with their unhappiness.
'Yesterday I exchanged a few SMS with John Terry and I told him tomorrow somebody will be sad, but that's life. Possibly I am no longer so special for Chelsea supporters who will probably never forgive me.'
Back at Chelsea, Ancelotti was left to plot his team’s quick recovery from a painful loss in time to maintain our push for success on other fronts, with the Blues sitting third in the Premier League table – four points off leaders Manchester United – and a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals on the horizon.
'We are very sorry,' summed up Ancelotti, 'but we have to stay focused on the other competitions.
'We are now only in two competition but they are of high importance. For sure we have more pressure now on the other games, but we have to be strong and have good control of our emotions. Maybe this defeat can be good motivation.'
That last line from the Italian proved to be prophetic. After a slight hiccup at Blackburn Rovers, Ancelotti’s side hit top form in the league thanks to back-to-back thrashings of Portsmouth (5-0) and Aston Villa (7-1), to put us within striking distance. We would drop points just once for the remainder of the season, as further big victories over Stoke and Wigan in our last two home games sealed the title by a single point.
Meanwhile, further Wembley wins over Villa and Pompey added the FA Cup trophy to our collection. Carlo and Chelsea may have lost our chance in Europe, for another year at least, but the rebound which followed meant Ancelotti’s first season at the Bridge not only ended with silverware, but the first domestic Double in the club’s history.