:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/13193991/168745609.0.jpg)
Chelsea have yet to board the plane, much less get off it. Thankfully, Benfica haven't a clue how to produce a proper shot on target.
The opening 45 minutes of this cup final were, for the lack of a better word, dire. Well, dire in terms of the overall Chelsea performance - aside from a vintage Frank Lampard stinger, that is. Benfica was more dangerous, crisper in the pass and, simply put, better. But, as mentioned previously, the Portuguese outfit failed to test Petr Cech at all.
That, my friends, is a positive. Another positive would be the fact that this match, like so many others this season, is following a familiar pattern. We've been known to, under Rafa, look lethargic out of the gate and then pick it up drastically. This is me - and you - hoping for more of the same.
On to the second half then, friends. Let's have this.