Soccer: Chelsea ready to toast victory

The last time Jose Mourinho visited Old Trafford he ended up tearing down the touchline like a demented teenager after his Porto side knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League with a late goal.

Tomorrow the Portuguese manager returns to the scene of that triumph last March with his seemingly unstoppable Chelsea side for the second leg of a League Cup semifinal that is delicately poised after a goalless first leg.

Unlike his team, Mourinho will be bearing gifts.

He and Sir Alex Ferguson shared a bottle of distinctly average wine after the 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago and Mourinho has promised his United rival a "beautiful bottle of Portuguese wine" for the return.

This apparent cordiality appears to be in marked contrast to Ferguson's bitter relationship with Arsenal rival Arsene Wenger.

The impression is misleading.

Both Ferguson and Mourinho share a pragmatic obsession with winning above all else and Ferguson has not forgotten that the Portuguese accused him of trying to influence the referee in the first leg.

Nonetheless, Chelsea's coach hopes to be celebrating more than just his 42nd birthday at the post-match drinks and he has plenty of reasons to justify his optimism.

Ten points clear at the top of the premier league, Chelsea are homing in on their first championship for 50 years.

The basis of their success this season is a defence marshalled by John Terry that has conceded only 10 goals in 29 domestic matches this season.

Over the past five weeks the collective strikers of Norwich, Aston Villa, Portsmouth (twice), Liverpool, Middlesbrough, United and Tottenham have all drawn a blank against Chelsea's rearguard.

In fact, the only goal they have conceded in their last nine games was against League Two club Scunthorpe.

Chelsea will almost certainly look to absorb United's in-form attack tomorrow before releasing their electric Dutchman Arjen Robben on the counter.

"He's a young man with an exceptional talent," Chelsea assistant manager Steve Clarke said.

"He has the ability to beat defenders at pace with the ball under control. It's a great gift.

"He scores goals, makes goals. He's very difficult to stop."

Liverpool or Watford await the winners at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on February 28.

If Chelsea make it they will be looking for their third League Cup triumph after 1965 and 1998.

Ferguson has never lost a domestic semifinal in his 18 years at the club, but United's record in the League Cup final is relatively poor. They have won it only once, in 1992, and lost in the final four times, most recently to Liverpool in 2003.

Ferguson is still deprived of unfit Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Scot reckoned his team were showing "championship form" after Sunday's 3-1 win over Villa, their 10th win in a run of 13 games unbeaten.

Like Chelsea their defence is miserly. They, too, have conceded only one goal in their last nine games.

Ferguson, who may recall Alan Smith up front alongside Wayne Rooney, cannot wait for a game that kick-starts an exciting month for his club.

"The matches coming up are fantastic games for us," he said.

"We've got a semifinal of the League Cup against Chelsea, an FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough and a forthcoming European tie with AC Milan."

- REUTERS