By Brad Smith Follow @BrummieBrad
Salamon Kalou was the hero at the Estadio Da Luz on Tuesday night, but in weeks gone by, he feared the end of his Chelsea career after disagreements with former boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Speaking after the game, interviewers asked him whether he was worried his Chelsea spell would go the same way as both Anelka and Alexs had, to which he replied
“Yeah. They [Anelka and Alex] did well for the club and did a great job. Every player has his own issue with the club. I can’t relate my issue to them.”
He added: “I have been told because I didn’t sign the contract, I was not allowed to play.”
Chelsea fans will be grateful that Di Matteo has given him the chance back, as he was one of the stars of the pitch, sneaking in the score the only goal of the game, and put Benfica well on the back foot going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge on April 4th.
The winger has been at Chelsea for 6 years now, and under Di Matteo, has played as much in the last 3 weeks than he did in 7 months under Villas-Boas, prompting him to consider a new contract now.
It is still unknown who the permanent Chelsea boss will be, but Roberto Di Matteo must be making himself a strong candidate, especially if his side do progress to play either Barcelona or AC Milan in the semi-finals.
The team selection, which included other fringe players such as John Obi Mikel, and Paulo Ferreira, was questioned by many before kick-off, but all had to eat their words as Chelsea ran out winners.