He may not be as special as he thinks he is. But there’s no denying how special Jose Mourinho was on his Stamford Bridge return and how well his Inter side performed as they completely outclassed a dishevelled Chelsea to dump them out of the Champions League.

Much was made prior to their meeting about Italian football’s decline and how a Premier League powerhouse should comfortably overturn a 2-1 deficit at home. But it was men against boys as Carlo Ancelotti’s side went out of the competition they desperately want to win more than anything with a whimper.

It’s true that Italy doesn’t have the same strength and depth they used to have and there wasn’t one single Italian in Inter’s starting line-up at the Bridge – but it can’t disguise the fact they have quality individuals with plenty of experience.

 

Maicon and Lucio are outstanding defenders who could walk into any side in Europe and easily got the better of Didier Drogba over the two legs. Wesley Sneijder appeared lost at Real Madrid but looked revitalised as he pulled the strings throughout the second half and set up Samule Eto’o - another player with real pedigree at the highest level - to seal a thoroughly deserved victory.

Inter Milan were more organised, more controlled in possession and far superior in every department. They didn’t approach the game with the cautious mindset sometimes associated with Mourinho’s teams, but attacked with aggression and ambition. But as good as Inter were, Chelsea were equally poor.

To overturn a first-leg deficit it is important to start the game with a good tempo and put the opposition on the backfoot. Inter had a fragile lead and setting the tone early would have planted a seed of doubt in their mind. 

However, Chelsea were slow and disjointed. There was no structure or balance to their play and they looked afraid of the task facing them. There may have been the occasional threat, but they weren’t in control at any stage and were waiting and hoping for Inter to make mistakes, rather than forcing their opponents to make them.

Of course the visitors lapped up the feeble challenge and as they grew in confidence, the home side deteriorated and resorted to hitting long balls. It was an extraordinary sight for a team coached by a double Champions League winner to surrender so weakly.

Perhaps the lack of guile and imagination is an indictment of Chelsea’s ageing squad and the fact that they are not as good as they were made out to be earlier in the season. A failure in leadership was also evident as the toys came out of the pram - just like their infamous semi-final defeat to Barcelona last season – when things started to go wrong.

You need to know how to lose in this game and the antics of Drogba and John Terry, who predictably had another poor display, highlights another reason why they haven’t won the competition before.

The result will go someway to addressing years of underperforming in European football by Inter and Mourinho. But the quarter-finals will be a different challenge and they have to prove that their victory wasn’t a one off if they are to truly turn the corner on Europe’s grand stage.

There are still at least four managers in world football better than Jose. So no, he isn’t the special one. But he showed he’s still capable of producing the kind of result any manager would be envious of.