Chelsea skipper Terry ends Roma resistance

John Terry, the strapping captain of Chelsea and England, will probably never forget his visit to Moscow in May, but that does not mean he has to sit around and think about it. In a sodden night and in the tension of the shootout, Terry crashed to his backside and missed a penalty kick against Manchester United that would have enabled Chelsea to carry off the Champions League. They lost the game, of course, but Terry has far from lost the plot. He was nursing heartache from Moscow, and backache going into the match against AS Roma, but made a telling contribution with the winning goal, his first for almost a year. His leadership qualities showed the England coach Fabio Capello what was missing against Kazakhstan and Belarus, despite the best efforts of others. Even at an astronomical fee for a defender in today's transfer market, there are not too many Terrys to be found at any price. His headed effort from Frank Lampard's corner in the 78th minute allowed the English side to emerge with three points from a match that failed to escape from a state of languidness. Chelsea need one more win from their final three games, not a daunting task, but their manager Luiz Felipe Scolari continues to be fascinated with assuming a proper posture and style that will please the club's hard-to-please owner Roman Abramovich. Scolari's remit in taking over Chelsea was obviously to bring a flair to his side. He wants his side to express themselves in Sunday's home match with Liverpool, an English Premier League encounter of some importance in a longer battle, and one which assumes top billing in terms of league standings. Chelsea were wonderful in shredding Middlesbrough 5-0 last week, but Roma provided Scolari's side with perhaps the type of test he will see when Liverpool visit London. There are hard times coming for Scolari's men, but football continues to move and shift at a frightening rates of naughts, and Terry being over the worst of his hurt is a notable sign. dkane@thenational.ae