The opportunity to seize control of their own destiny for the first time since before Christmas was lost by Chelsea away at St. James' park. This week both Manchester United and Chelsea face extremely tough tests in the Champions League, and although they will both be fully focussed on these first legs, a sense of missed opportunity could end up seeing Chelsea lose to Liverpool.
They were poor. Of that there is no doubt. They looked fragile in defense (Ashley Cole and Carvalho both out), and even more lacking in attack. Drogba was a shadow of his former self, and Shevchenko's arrival onto the pitch towards the end of the game had Mourinho tearing his hair out on the sidelines.
Newcastle defended admirably, but Liverpool will present a much sterner task. In many ways, the reds from Liverpool are Chelsea's bogey team in much the same way that Middlesborough are to Manchester United. Any Chelsea fan would be lying if he said that he felt confident of beating Liverpool over the two legs, and it may just be this respect towards their opponents that will guide Chelsea through to the final. Here's not counting my chickens.
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