Two Goals Down, Rotherham Need One Great European Night
Chelsea take a 2-0 lead to Rotherham on 7 May, but the Millers’ perfect Champions League league-phase form gives them reason to believe.
Chelsea won the first leg 2-0 on 29 April. That leaves no room for Rotherham to settle into the second leg: the tie is decided there, with the final the prize for the winners. We asked in these pages before the first leg whether Rotherham could turn the deficit into a Wembley-sized roar. Now comes the answer, with the Millers needing a special night rather than another respectable defeat.
Rotherham are third in the English Premier Division with 64 points from 20 games in the archive’s table snapshot; their latest five league matches brought three wins and two defeats. Chelsea are top with 94 points, 30 ahead of Rotherham in that snapshot, and have won four of their last five league games. The league is another competition and counts for nothing on Thursday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are English champions already. Their English Premier Division record is 31 wins, one draw and two defeats in 34 matches. Their European experience is formidable, but Rotherham have shown they belong here: this is their fourth season in European competition.
Tony Konneh knows Chelsea from his years there, while Antonio López and Norberto Pico have worn Rotherham colours. Familiar faces add a little extra bite. The arithmetic is plain; the atmosphere need not be. Rotherham need goals, nerve and the kind of night you remember long after the pie has gone cold.