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The moment of truth will be out soon for the Special One. Even if Avram Grant wins nothing, he has already gone one up over his predecessor, Jose Mourinho, by getting the better of Liverpool. Chelsea finally gained sweet revenge for three disappointments in four years.

Grant just about deserved the plaudits in this pulsating outing, after all, nobody expected him to come so far. He made two changes to the team that started the first leg at Anfield - Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou were fielded to add more bite to the attacks. Indeed, Chelsea were determined to seize the intitiative and Drogba forced the first save of the night in the 6th minute with a long range effort which keeper Reina was alert in saving on the bounce.

Liverpool, wary of the unbeaten Stamford Bridge fortress, preferred a patient approach. Their game plan lies in soaking up pressure and then delivering the ball to Torres at the first opportunity. It almost worked when the Spaniard raced onto Gerrard’s fine pass four minutes later, only for Petr Cech to block his shot.

This was Liverpool’s only shot on target in a first half where Chelsea dictated possession and created more chances. Drogba - so impressive in the weekend win over Manchester United - was again in the thick of action but he spurned a glorious chance by clipping wide after an incisive through pass by Lampard.

Ballack tried his luck with a long range effort but it was punched away by Reina. Liverpool were unfortunate to lose Martin Skrtel to a knee injury, and things got worse when Chelsea broke Liverpool’s resistance on 33 minutes. Kalou slipped through the offside trap.. barely, and latched onto Lampard’s sublime pass. Reina made a diving stop but he did not recover in time to stop Drogba from drilling in the rebound.

The one-way traffic continued as Ballack struck a superb free-kick which just missed the mark by inches in the 42nd minute. Liverpool were relieved to go into the break with the score just 1-0. Right after the interval, an ineffective Gerrard who had been restricted by Makelele, showed his mettle by delivering a sublime free-kick which found Kuyt. The latter forced Cech to make a one-handed parry but Liverpool failed to kill off the stray ball.

As the match progressed, Benítez decided to make significant changes - Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso were instructed to venture forward and Gerrard was pushed further up to support Torres. Benayoun and Kuyt switched flanks, and slowly but surely, a more lively Liverpool emerged.

It was Chelsea’s turn to sit deeply and their rhythm all but vanished; their lack of concentration was exposed when Benayoun crafted an assist for Torres who swiveled and lashed in the ball with aplomb. It was Liverpool’s first goal at Stamford Bridge in nine matches, and extra time was destined based on the level terms.

The extra period was not short of drama and controversy. Essien’s drive from 22 yards flew into the net, but the goal did not stand four Chelsea players were offside. The Blues protested that they were not interfering, to no avail. Their efforts were rewarded when seconds later, Sami Hyypia felled Ballack. The referee pointed to the spot and Lampard, with remarkable poise and nerves, converted brilliantly.

At this critical juncture, Torres was taken off and in came Ryan Babel. In the 105th min, Chelsea went two goals clear when Drogba swept home Anelka’s pass from six yards. Then, Hyypia stumbled in the box but no penalty was given. In the 117th min, Cech made an elementary blunder when he failed to stop Babel’s 35-yarder.

It set up a nail-biting finale but Chelsea persevered to seal a tie with Manchester United in Moscow. The home fans were in raptures and they could yet become the first London club to lift the most prestigious prize in Europe. Chelsea captain John Terry felt his side deserved their place in the Champions League final. He said: “It’s fantastic. I think we’ve fully deserved it over the years.”

Terry expressed admiration for Lampard’s character after his mother died last week. This event not only spurred Lampard to put in exemplary efforts for the club but has also united his team mates to create history for themselves. Grant also paid tribute to what the midfielder has done, considering the emotional distress.

Grant was proud to have achieved something which Mourinho had never managed to do with Chelsea. He joked: “There’s only one ’special one’.” But this was special against Liverpool. They are a fantastic team and Rafa played tactically. You need to be clever against him but we did it. We have created history and I am very proud we did it my way.”

The emphasis on the word “my way” must have grated on Mourinho’s ears; knowing his competitive nature in provocative situations, I wonder what he has to say about that. For now, Roman Abramovich must be a happy man. Victory is especially sweet for him if he gets to conquer Europe in Moscow.

His decision to sack Mourinho seems to be vindicated and achieving a Grand Slam of trophies justifies all the money spent thus far. There is no reason for the bankrolling to stop if desired results are achieved so the fans can expect more top quality signings in the summer and they will be Grant’s men.

I say Grant’s men because I believe a mass exodus of players is not far away. Despite the wild celebrations now (yeah, the applauds, embraces, back-patting and dancing are all good), but end of the day, a large section of the fans and players do not love Grant and neither will they give him credit for anything.

A lot of the old guards still hold Grant in contempt and every judgmental error he made is magnified. Wenger can afford to throw away a comfortable lead and lose so many points in the last couple of months, without as much as a whimper from the fans or media, but if that happens to Grant, I believe he will skinned alive.

My candidate for the man of the match has to be Drogba. While his loyalty to Chelsea is still debatable, there is no doubting his passion and commitment last night. Is Drogba selfish and big headed? I will say yes, his spate with Ballack over a free kick in the previous match against Manchester United suggests he has an enormous ego, but when he is in such stellar form, the fans are ready to forgive him. So long as he puts his goal-scoring ability to use and gets the job done, he will continue to feature prominently as the main striker.

Drogba is passionate but do not be mistaken that he is fighting for the club’s honor or for Grant. He is putting in his best efforts to clinch the Premier League and Champions League medals to add to his resume. Nothing wrong with that and it serves the club’s purpose anyway. But expecting him to stay because it is Grant’s wish, even with the most attractive salary and benefits, is highly unlikely.

It is clear Drogba is still emotionally attached to his former boss, Mourinho, and with the latter’s arrival at Inter Milan next season, fresh speculation is sparked on the future of Drogba and Lampard. Italian newspapers have reported that Inter are preparing a £35 million bid for the pair. Mourinho signed Drogba for a club-record £24 million in 2004 from Marseilles and Lampard is highly regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Next season will be interesting as I missed the melodrama and whines from the Special One. Trust me, Mourinho can’t wait to clash with his former club in the Champions League and put Grant to the sword, proving once and for all, who is the real McCoy.

As for Liverpool, I believe Benitez made a fatal mistake in infuriating Drogba before such a critical match. The Ivorian purposely slided towards Liverpool bench to celebrate in front of Benitez who has accused him earlier of being a diver and mentioned about a dossier of the striker’s antics.

Under Grant, Chelsea have shown a tendency to self-destruct and issuing such statements only serves to unite the players. Liverpool are a club with glorious achievements and the lesson for Benitez in another barren season is to focus on the domestic competition instead of just doing well in the Champions League.

The trophy cabinet cannot be empty for too long, especially the Premier League title. While getting to the semis of the Champions League can temporarily paper over weaknesses, the ambitions of players like Gerrard and Torres will not be satiated with only a top-four finish every season.

Benitez can take heart though as the team once again came very close to the Champions League crown with sufficient chances to eliminate Chelsea in both legs. The squad is still young and will develop given time. In view of the destabilizing factors and Benitez’s precarious position at times, he has done an amazing job of steadying the ship and preventing his players from being distracted. If Liverpool desire success, they have to stop the bickering among the owners and give Benitez a strong vote of confidence. Handing him a war chest to bolster the squad is also necessary, at least for another season.

Manchester United will be clashing with Chelsea again and both are still in contention for a double. United’s shaky form makes them liable to drop points again in the Premier League. Against Barcelona, a team not famed for suffocating defenses, United got a break and capitalized on it through Paul Scholes. However, it is a different ball game against Chelsea as the players are well drilled in the art of defense since Mourinho’s era. United fans can seek solace though that Ronaldo and Tevez were not in the first XI so Chelsea are not infallible in the finals.

The entire season has now condensed into the results of another three more matches. For many outstanding players in both clubs, they are upon the threshold of greatness and it is up to them to prove their place in history.

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