INTERVIEW

Wednesday, October 27, 9:32am London Time
Vialli: I wish I'd scored that goal
By Martin Lipton in the San Siro


Dennis Wise sent Chelsea into Blue Heaven in the San Siro last night with the Champions League goal that had manager Gianluca Vialli admitting: 'I wish I'd scored it.'

Just three minutes after Germany's Oliver Bierhoff had headed AC Milan in front, skipper Wise latched on to substitute Roberto Di Matteo's through ball and, with Paolo Maldini strugging to catch him, coolly slipped the ball into the bottom corner.

It was Wise's fourth European goal, coming less than a fortnight after the ninth red card of his career at Liverpool, and the 1-1 result means Chelsea need only draw against Hertha Berlin at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday to go through to the second group stage.

For Vialli, the Milan fans' bete noire, it was a personal and tactical triumph but the Italian wanted to give his players the plaudits. 'They showed so much character and for us to come back from a goal behind and draw in the San Siro is a great result,' he said. 'I am so proud of the way we played.'

He was particularly proud of his captain. Vialli said: 'Of all the people at this club Dennis Wise is the right one to score a goal like that at a venue like the San Siro. He controlled the ball well and showed great composure to score and it's a goal I am envious of.

'He has had a difficult time after what happened at Liverpool but he deserved a moment like this and his performance showed why he is our captain and why I rate him as one of the key players in my team.

'Of course, he sometimes makes mistakes and sometimes I am not happy with him. But, most of the time, I would say that he is doing great for me and for the club.'

Chelsea's maturity was evident throughout and, while Andriy Shevchenko hit the post with a first-half header, the Blues had more than their fair share of goal- scoring opportunities.

Home goalkeeper Christian Abbiati made superb saves from Dan Petrescu, Albert Ferrer and Gustavo Poyet, whose header from a pinpoint Wise cross came just 30 seconds before Brazilian wing back Serginho centred for Bierhoff to force his header past Ed De Goey.

The half-time substitution of flu victim Petrescu meant Wise had to operate wide on the right in the second half and Vialli admitted his side had been holding on. He added: 'In the first half I thought we were the better team, creating chances by playing good football.

'But when we lost Dan, we had no width. It became much more difficult. We started defending too deep and they were better than us. Bierhoff's header was a good goal but our reaction to it was magnificent.'

Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni admitted Chelsea's game plan had worked to perfection. He said: 'We had to win and Chelsea were happy with a draw and played for one. We did well to get in front but, after they equalised, we didn't have the mental or physical force to score another goal.'

Milan, the masters of Europe just a decade ago now face the prospect of elimination from the Champions League at the first hurdle.

A draw in London next week would send both Chelsea and Berlin through and the way Chelsea performed last night in one of the game's great crucibles was testament to the spirit that Vialli has forged.

Chelsea now stand on the verge of a massive step forward in their development and Vialli said: 'To go through from this group would be a great achievement for the club but also for the players and their confidence.

'When you are a big club, people expect a great performance every time you play. We gave one here.'

Chelsea's confidence was boosted all the more by Galatasaray's 4- 1 win away to Berlin. Only last week Vialli's men thrashed the Turks 5-0 on their own ground.