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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Zico delights in Chelsea defeat

/noticias.info/ A delighted Fenerbahçe SK coach Zico said that his team were a completely different side in the second half after the Turkish club came from behind to beat Chelsea FC 2-1 in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg in Istanbul. Deivid made amends for a first-half own goal with a spectacular late winner after Kazım Kazım had levelled the scores. The end result shocked visiting manager Avram Grant, who nonetheless insisted that Chelsea remained favourites to go through.

Zico, Fenerbahçe coach
We are very happy with the result but we really didn't play well in the first half – it was like we were not concentrating on the game. However, in the second period we played better, battled for every ball and won. If you analysed the first half, you would have said that Fenerbahçe would definitely lose. But the flow of the game changed completely – we were totally different after the break. It was very important for us to win this game and now we have the advantage. Yes, we have to go to Stamford Bridge, but of the three possible outcomes of that match – win, lose or draw – two of them will take us through to the semi-finals. From the beginning, our ultimate goal has always been the final. At the moment, all we are thinking about is the game in London and getting to the semi-final, but we are getting there step by step and we want to be in Moscow.

Avram Grant, Chelsea manager
I don't know what to say. This is the way football is – we deserved to win but didn't. In ideal conditions the game could have finished 3-0 or 4-0 to us but, in the end, we lost. I am disappointed with the result but it's not that bad because we played away. If you look at our display on the pitch, you can see that we should have won – my players performed very well. We were dominating the match in midfield and we couldn't see any danger coming but then they hit us with the second goal out of nowhere. We will play the second leg at home and hope to use this advantage. Because of this, I am sure we will qualify for the semi-finals. notas_de_prensa_archivo