There was no Jose Mourinho in the dug-out at Stamford Bridge last night but by the end it hardly seemed to matter because the Chelsea's coach influence could be detected all over this remarkable match. The principles he holds so dear were there in another swashbuckling Champions' League performance, in the goals his valiant side scored and in the decisions made in his absence by the Chelsea bench.
Especially, it seemed, those decisions. On one of those nights when Stamford Bridge staked another claim to host to one of European football's most uninhibited attacking teams it might seem ungrateful to tear the gaze away from the pitch but it was the activity on the touchline that also caught the eye. Mourinho's whereabouts remained a mystery during the match, but the note-passing on the bench hinted at an involvement that was much harder to measure.
The conspiracy theorists will point to the notes that were passed by the fitness coach Rui Faria, who wore a hat pulled low over his ears, to Mourinho's assistants Baltemar Brito and Steve Clarke which seemed to coincide with major decisions. And the intervention of the Uefa official Pieter Vink suggested that he too was suspicious, but from Brito came a flat denial of any wrongdoing. "There was no contact with Mourinho," he said. "The last time I saw him was two hours before kick-off and I have not seen him since."
If Uefa still have the stomach for another dispute with Mourinho after serving him with the two-match ban that will also prevent him from manning the touchline in Munich on Wednesday then that will be some charge to prove. The club's spokesman denied that Faria had an earpiece and even the frequent trips down the tunnel by the goalkeeper coach Silvinho Louro were dismissed as innocent errands.
