Drogba was to take Terry’s penalty

Chelsea skipper missed the crucial penalty that could’ve given his team Champions League glory

MOSCOW: John Terry should not have taken the penalty that cost Chelsea the chance of winning the Champions League, it emerged on Thursday as the Londoners bemoaned the bad luck that handed the trophy to Manchester United. The players and staff of the Stamford Bridge club were united in insisting they had deserved to win Wednesday’s final, which they lost in an agonising penalty shoot-out.

Chelsea dominated the second half, hitting the woodwork once near the end of regulation time and again in extra-time. Then, after Cristiano Ronaldo’s spot-kick had been saved by Petr Cech, Terry had the chance to secure the club’s first European Cup by converting his side’s fifth penalty.

But the England defender slipped just before he made contact with the ball and his strike slipped past the outside of Edwin van der Sar’s left-hand post, handing United a lifeline that the Dutch goalkeeper grabbed by saving from Nicolas Anelka. Assistant first team coach Henk ten Cate revealed that Terry had not been on the list of players who were supposed to take one of the first five penalties.

But he was forced to step up as a result of Didier Drogba being sent off for a petulant slap on Nemanja Vidic six minutes before the end of extra-time. “John was not in the first five to take a kick but things change during a game.”