[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] In a little more than an hour, Brazilian Deivid went from goat to hero, leading Fenerbahce to a 2-1 win over mighty English club Chelsea in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series.
Fener coach Zico praised Deivid for overcoming his own goal in the 13th minute to score the winning goal late in the game after Colin Kazim-Richards scored the equalizer for Fener 16 minutes earlier.
Deivid deflected Florent Malouda’s cross into his own net in the 13th minute but made amends in the first leg game by blasting home an 81st minute winner.
“Today’s own goal could have happened to anyone,” Zico said of Deivid’s deflection of Frenchman Florent Malouda’s cross. “Deivid clearly decided he would go on to win the game for himself.”
Zico conceded his team started poorly.
“We started hastily and were nervous, maybe because we were in this position for the first time. After conceding the goal we were in shock and the players became more uneasy,” he said. “Those who saw the first half would say there is no way this game could turn in favor of Fenerbahce. But that’s exactly what we saw. After we got the equalizer, we started to trust in ourselves more. I’m very pleased with the players’ performances.”
GAME SUMMARY:
April 2 in Istanbul
Fenerbahce 2 Chelsea 1. Goals: Kazim-Richards 65, Deivid 81; own goal 13.
Fenerbahce — Volkan, Onder, Lugano, Edu, Gokcek Vederson, Maldonado, Mehmet Aurelio, Alex, Ugur (Kazim-Richards, 54), Deivid, Kezman (Semih, 72).
Chelsea — Cudicini, Essien, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, A.Cole, Ballack, Makelele, Lampard (Mikel, 76),
Malouda, Drogba, J.Cole (Anelka, 86)
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark).
Att.: 49,055.