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Chelsea's André Schürrle orchestrates fightback to beat Cardiff City You can't just click your fingers for Chelsea success, says José Mourinho
(about 3 hours later)
For long periods this looked like being another of those afternoons that would end with José Mourinho bemoaning Chelsea's toothless attack but the introduction of André Schürrle as a second-half substitute turned the game around as the Germany international scored one and set up another in the space of three minutes to condemn Cardiff to defeat and complete a miserable season for the Welsh club. Jose Mourinho insisted it was "no drama" for Chelsea to finish third and spoke of his conviction that they will be challenging for the title next season provided the club make a couple of significant signings in the summer, with a world-class striker top of his wish list.
The home supporters had hoped for a happier finale when Craig Bellamy marked what could be his last game for the club with an early goal. The Chelsea manager acknowledged Manchester City deserved to be champions but also mentioned, over and over again, the recent defeats against Aston Villa and Sunderland that effectively cost his team a place at the top of the table and, in both cases, were laced with refereeing complaints.
Chelsea, for all their possession, lacked the cutting edge to bring parity and there was a sense that Cardiff might hold on until Schürrle replaced Mikel John Obi. Six minutes later Schürrle volleyed Chelsea level and within the blink of an eye Fernando Torres was celebrating scoring the winner. Asked whether he was hurt to finish third, Mourinho said: "No, because it is part of the process. One thing is to play clearly to win the title. Another is to be in a transition phase. It was an easier job for me to get a team ready to win and I promise you I had chances to do that not just in this country but others.
Chelsea, in truth, should have been ahead before Bellamy's deflected goal. "My decision was this and I am happy with that. It is part of a process in a dangerous league where you can finish fifth and be out of the Champions League. Third is not a drama, it is a position you have to accept in this transitional period.
There were less than three minutes on the clock when Torres capitalised on a mix up between Mats Daehli and Steven Caulker midway inside the Cardiff half. Torres broke free, rounded David Marshall, the Cardiff goalkeeper, but after picking out the ball amid a penalty box full of balloons, the striker's left-footed shot was blocked by Caulker. "Next season, if we do our work in a successful way in the summer market, which I know the club is trying to do everything to make that a successful period for us, then if we do that I want to start day one saying we are going to fight for the title.
Bellamy's goal was a bolt from the blue. Cardiff had offered little threat but when Bellamy received Peter Whittingham's square pass in space 25 yards from goal no Chelsea player closed him down. The Welshman accepted the invitation to step forward and strike a left-footed shot that took a huge deflection off César Azpilicueta to leave Mark Schwarzer, the Chelsea goalkeeper, stranded. "We don't need a new spine, a new structure. It is there. The fundamental for us now is a couple of players of a certain level to help the team immediately go to a different level."
Chances came and went as Chelsea pinned Cardiff back without being able to add the finishing touch. Mohamed Salah was guilty of profligacy on more than one occasion, Oscar took too long to pick his spot and Eden Hazard struck the side-netting before Schürrle's intervention turned the game around. It was put to Mourinho that third place and failing to win a trophy would have been a drama for a Chelsea manager in the past and may well have resulted in the sack. "Maybe that happens tomorrow but that's not what I was promised or what we spoke about when we sat and discussed the period Chelsea was living," Mourinho said, referring to his talks with Roman Abramovich, the club's owner, last summer.
The German's equaliser came after a game of pin-ball in the Cardiff area. "We are not asking for eight, nine or 10 years to achieve success. But you can't just click your fingers and success arrives. This season it almost happened."
Azpilicueta looked certain to score when he met Oscar's centre with a header from no more than six yards out but Marshall produced a superb one-hand save to keep the ball out. First to the rebound, Azpilicueta hammered his follow up shot against the bar before Schürrle volleyed home. Chelsea ultimately came up four points short, after ending their campaign with this narrow but deserved victory against a Cardiff side who were already relegated.
Marshall deserved better but he was soon picking the ball out of the net for a second time. This time it was Schürrle's header that found Torres on-side and in space inside the Cardiff area. Torres controlled the ball on his chest and had the simple task of slotting the ball beyond Marshall. Craig Bellamy, on what may well have been his last appearance for Cardiff, put the home team ahead with a 25-yard shot that took a huge deflection off Cesar Azpilicueta, but André Schürrle came off the bench to volley Chelsea level and set up the winner for Fernando Torres three minutes later.
"I know where I want to go," said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Cardiff manager, who had a three-hour meeting with Vincent Tan, the club's owner, on Saturday to discuss next season, which will be in the Championship, not the Premier League. "It's important he trusts me to take it forward."
Man of the match André Schürrle (Chelsea)