Monaco coach Didier Deschamps emerged as one of European soccer’s finest tacticians when his 10-man team humbled Chelsea. On Tuesday, two weeks after knocking nine-times champions Real Madrid out of the competition, the former international midfielder won a tactical battle over his experienced Chelsea counterpart, Claudio Ranieri. When Monaco found themselves down to 10 men after Greek midfielder Andreas Zikos was sent off in the 52nd minute, Deschamps decided to leave two strikers on the pitch. He brought on midfielder Edouard Cisse for Dado Prso and moved Ludovic Giuly forward to spearhead Monaco’s attack with Fernando Morientes. Ranieri, dubbed the “Tinkerman” for his constant squad changes, brought in Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for right back Mario Melchiot, one of three changes in the second half. The change seemed to disjoint the London side whose numerical superiority became increasingly less obvious. “We needed one more player up front to win the match,” said Ranieri. “But in the last 15 minutes we lost the plot. It’s not the players’ fault, it’s mine.”
