FIFA Club World Cup: Moses laments: I thought I’d scored

Super Eagles ace, Victor Moses said he thought he had salvaged the night for himself and his mates when he tried to score for Chelsea in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final decided at the International Stadium Yokohama, as the UEFA Champions League winners lost via a lone goal to Corinthians of Brazil

The Nigerian, from the blast of the whistle, gave Rafa Benitez’s side a little more muscle and pace up front, and had one of Chelsea’s best chances of the night. In the dying moments of the first half, he broke through the Brazilians’ defence and curled a nasty shot toward the top corner. Much to his surprise, Corinthians’ net-minder Cassio sprawled like a cat to parry the ball away.

“I thought the ball was going in and I was ready to run off and celebrate. But he’s a tall keeper, he went full-stretch and pulled off a fantastic save.” These were the words of Chelsea’s Nigeria international Victor Moses, describing his dart into the box from the left-hand side and subsequent deft curling shot, which was headed for the corner of the net before the intervention of Corinthians’ custodian Cassio.
“We had chances Sunday night,” Victor Moses told FIFA.com, the muffled songs of tens of thousands of jubilant Corinthians fans ringing out in the distance. “But it’s just one of those nights when the other team’s keeper had a blinder.”
“I couldn’t believe it. He had a really great day and made some good saves,” added the Blues’ attacker to FIFA.com. And that was indeed the case. In pulling off a string of important stops, O Timão’s man between the sticks put in an unforgettable performance, a ‘thou shalt not pass’ display that played a significant role in his club’s second FIFA Club World Cup title.
“We’re professional footballers, after all,” he said, victorious Corinthians players filing past behind him. “We’ll get ourselves back to where we need to be mentally. We had a bad day today; things didn’t go our way. We’ll put it behind us.


THE NATION