In the stands at Allianz Arena, when Abramovich saw Yang Yang stab the ball past Čech and into Chelsea's goal, the Russian immediately threw a right punch into the air. It was as if he had punched Yang Yang himself, yet it did nothing to relieve the anger in his heart.
"Did they really let them equalize?" Abramovich demanded furiously. "Those damn fools—how could they let them equalize just like that?"
Sitting beside him, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and Chief Assistant Marina Granovskaia said nothing. They both knew that, at that moment, any excuse would only add fuel to the fire and further enrage their already furious boss.
Chelsea's run to the Champions League Final this season had indeed been somewhat surprising. The team had suffered one setback after another, and the facts had proven that abandoning Ancelotti and choosing Boas had been a mistake. Not to mention that Chelsea had paid more than ten million euros in severance compensation for Boas, making the decision even more ridiculous.
But there had been no way around it. From the moment Chelsea chose to sack Ancelotti, they had no other options left.
At that moment, Ancelotti had brought Real Madrid to face Chelsea in the Final, and few people had expected Chelsea to win.
In fact, it had already been highly unexpected that the Blues had caught Real Madrid off guard and taken the lead in the first half.
Di Matteo's tactical arrangements and Drogba's crucial header were both unforgettable.
But Real Madrid was still Real Madrid.
The team had won the Champions League in each of the previous two seasons and reached the Final this season in pursuit of a third consecutive title. Its strength was obvious, especially its attacking power up front. The combination of Yang Yang, Ibrahimovic, Robben, and