Champions League 08/09

hats off to Chelsea for playing the best defensive game they will ever play in the (lacking) history of the club, cech actually looked good between the posts ....barca were unlucky

Barcelona should have won with a goal or two but the defensive, anti-football play from Chelsea today served them well. I too don't like it when teams play like this but it is strategy and you do what you have to in order to get the result you want, so well done Hiddink. Barcelona were very unfortunate and had some pretty good chances to score (especially the Bojan header around the 90th minute), but unfortunately they could not take them. Well done to Cech also. Some brilliant saves. Sadly for Guardiola, capitano Puyol will miss the next leg which really sucks. He is a rock. But Barca will not give up at Stamford Bridge and I really hope they get through to the final. They really deserve it.

Go the Blaugrana!

I reckoned before the game that Chelsea could beat Barca over two legs. Now I'm not so sure.

John Giles (Irish pundit and ex-Man U player) put it perfectly. Yes, Chelsea played a good defensive game but they didn't show that they could actually go out and beat Barca. Barca will go to Stamford Bridge and play the exact same and with Chelsea having to take the game to Barca, it opens it up for Barca.

With Drogba's power and ability upfront, Lampard's shooting skills and Ballack/Mikel/Essien's defenive abilities, why did Chelsea go so defensive? In my opinion, Ballack, Essien and maybe even Mikel are better than Yaya Toure or Keita at defending and the Chelsea backline is stronger so why Chelsea didn't go out and pinch some goals like they did in Liverpool is beyond me. At least force Messi/Henry/Eto'o/Xavi/Iniesta to win the game for Barca. Chelsea were solid in defence and still could of conceded two or three goals so the approach, for me, was all wrong.

let's put it short - Chelsea don't deserve to go thru. For tonight - GO GUNNERS !

Is Arhavin available???

Jofo wrote:

Is Arhavin available???

No

In line with what I thought before, and even more after the quarter finals, Arsenal and Chelsea will play in the final game. I have put some money on Chelsea and Arsenal to reach the last stage, and that the Gunners will win CL this year...

Hiddink is smarter than Guardiola, and Chelsea has the better keeper. In a tight clash, these two elements could be decisive.

Man Utd is the better team, but I figure they have been playing their maximum the last few games in the league, and in CL, and I think that the Gunners have been having an easier time lately. Arsenal comes with a fresher team.

On top of that, Barca and Utd have to focus on the league as well, while Chelsea and Arsenal have more or less nothing to play for in the league. Chelsea will not get the PL, and Arsenal is more or less done with their objective, to reach CL next year...

I am lucky to be still be in on my bet. Utd could have trashed Arsenal. 1-0 is a result Arsenal should be very very satisfied with,. They got lucky Almunia was back...

Glad I'm not a Chelsea fan

hahaa DRAMA!!!

Barcelona vs Manchester at olimpico the best two teams in the world,congratulations to both of them

big question is: could they, or rather should they be kicked out of Europe???

Watching Sky Sports and the panel saying what an injustice this was and Chelsea's antics on the pitch after the final whistle was insane. What would have been an injustice is if Chelsea had gone through after 2 games of anti-football, having been completely dominated over both legs and managing to score a goal out of nothing really. They didn't play or do anything on the pitch to prove they were worthy of Europe's biggest prize.

I admit the ref was ridiculous tonight and couldn't believe Chelsea didn't get penalties but normally the shoe is on the other foot, and for football fans over the world we have a great final now!

To be honest, the only decision I disagreed with was Abidal's sending off. Also, Essien, as much as I love the chap, studded Iniesta in the shin and only received a booking.

With all the handball incidents, their hands were raised but there was an effort from Pique to move his hand away from the ball and the ball striking Eto'o was underneath his shoulder, not his "arm". When Pique "handled" the ball, the ball was going nowhere as Anelka had lost control of it. Referees base their decisions on the context of the game, It's like Fletcher last night; yes, he won the ball but his leg brought Fabregas down and he hadn't cleared the ball enough so that he wasn't preventing a goalscoring opportunity.

I hate bullshit handball decisions anyway. Unless a player consciously handles a ball or prevents what may be a goal, it's not a penalty or a booking or even a foul. This "oh but his hands were raised" is tripe. Try jumping for a ball or trying to stop it without moving your arm in some way. Good luck on not falling over in the process.

Giolazio wrote:

Watching Sky Sports and the panel saying what an injustice this was and Chelsea's antics on the pitch after the final whistle was insane. What would have been an injustice is if Chelsea had gone through after 2 games of anti-football, having been completely dominated over both legs and managing to score a goal out of nothing really. They didn't play or do anything on the pitch to prove they were worthy of Europe's biggest prize.

I admit the ref was ridiculous tonight and couldn't believe Chelsea didn't get penalties but normally the shoe is on the other foot, and for football fans over the world we have a great final now!

Fully agree Gio!

Well done Barcelona. A worthy team that deserves to be in the final. Sad for Chelsea to lose in that manner but they did it to themselves. With a man up for nearly half an hour and playing at home with the lead, they should have done better but obviously I am glad they did not!


As for the final I hope Barca go all the way. Not just because I have always loved them, but because they have been unbelievable this season. Like a fantasy at times. By far the best football this season. No one comes close.

Brilliant news that Puyol will be back for it, and also Henry should hopefully have recovered well in time to make it, but Dani Alves will be a big, big blow for Barca. Very unfortunate. Also Marquez and Abidal will be unavailable.

For me I still cannot believe United actually made it to the final with the boring but very effective style they play. But well done to them. Apparently Fletcher might have his red card revoked? How the frick does that work?

Nah, can't be that Fletcher will get off that easily. I mean too bad for him, missing a final for a clumsy foul when the game was already over, but if he get's pardoned then so should Abidal for his "foul" on Anelka.

From a neutral perspective I'd blow the whistle on Pique's handball. Drogba's falling over was never going to be enough for a penalty in the CL semi. But as Caxi put it nowadays referee's need to be absolutely sure that it was a) intentional b) directly preventing a scoring opportunity c) impossible to oversee.

But the ref lost control last night. He should have sanctioned early diving and protests with a well placed yellow and that would be the end of the drama. I can imagine how pissed Chelsea fans are right now, that's why I said the moment Iniesta scored that I'm glad I'm not one of them.

At the end of the day, if Chelsea won, the referee would have had a good game.

And the conspiracy theories is bull. Anelka dives, Abidal gets sent off, that wouldn't happen if there was favours being done here.

I see that most of you here are not that pissed of that Chelsea didn't reach the final. I have to disagree. Giolazio, how can you say that Barca dominated the game last night?

IMO Chelsea deserved to go through. Essien scored a great goal. If it were the other way round, if let's say Messi scored the exact same goal and the final score were 1:0 to Barca people would just talk about the fact how brilliant Messi is and how brilliant that goal was. Barca played like sh!t last night, they didn't deserve to go through IMO.

Chelsea should have been awarded at least one penalty and with the second goal the game would have been over.

Ivan wrote:

I see that most of you here are not that pissed of that Chelsea didn't reach the final. I have to disagree. Giolazio, how can you say that Barca dominated the game last night?

IMO Chelsea deserved to go through. Essien scored a great goal. If it were the other way round, if let's say Messi scored the exact same goal and the final score were 1:0 to Barca people would just talk about the fact how brilliant Messi is and how brilliant that goal was. Barca played like sh!t last night, they didn't deserve to go through IMO.

Chelsea should have been awarded at least one penalty and with the second goal the game would have been over.

Can't agree more!I was so sorry for Chelsea they and surly Hiddink deserved place in the final

I'm with Gio on this guys. Chelsea played defnsively, Barca went attacking and it took a wondergoal from each side to break the deadlock. The key thing is, Chelsea didn't take their chances and when you do that, you deserve to lose.

Penalties aside, Valdes in both legs was equal to whatever Drogba threw at him but last night, you could see Barca were beginning to get good chances in the second half. They tired out Chelsea, Essien gives the ball away in his own area and Barca make them pay the price. That's what top top teams do.

Chelsea went to Barcelona and decided not to score. They were fortunate to score a wondergoal (as great as it was) and be in a position to park the bus in front of goal for the match. Ultimately it was the wrong thing to do and they paid the price.

If Chelsea held off, you would have to concede that they deserved it, but because they didn't stop Barca scoring (as late as it may have been) they deserve to go out.

On another note, Guardiola commands much respect. Even with ten men, he stuck to his guns, he believed in what his side were doing. I love it when a manager shows faith in his players like that and it's obvious that the team love them. He's put his own stamp on Barca and for a rookie manager, that's impressive.

Ivan wrote:

Giolazio, how can you say that Barca dominated the game last night?

Ok even if I don't care about stats, there is a clear indication about domination in for example ball possession, and the fact that almost 70 minutes of the game was played on Chelsea's half of the pitch.

Chelsea Barcelona
1 Goals scored 1
4 Shots on target 1
5 Shots wide 10
3 Shots blocked 3
4 Yellow card 3
0 Red card 1
16 Fouls committed 17
6 Corners 6
5 Offsides 0
23' 6'' Ball. Poss. (time) 40' 9''
36% Ball. Poss. (%) 64%

The first leg was even worse for chelsea:

Barcelona Chelsea
0 Goals scored 0
6 Shots on target 1
12 Shots wide 2
2 Shots blocked 0
2 Yellow card 2
0 Red card 0
7 Fouls committed 20
10 Corners 2
4 Offsides 3
36' 29'' Ball. Poss. (time) 19' 8''
65% Ball. Poss. (%) 35%

So the Chelsea fans will appeal the penalties, and Barca fans will argue the domination and willingness to play were the deciding factor. You can't choose your referee and you can't influence his decisions, what you can do is play to the best of your abilities, and Chelsea only have themselves to blame for conceding with a player extra on the pitch, and with Drogba out and Belletti in one must wonder how on earth did they allow this to happen?

I'm with Ivan. Do I side with chelsea? No, but they had legitmate penalty claims.

And, why is it that playing defensively is so wrong? Football is football, whether it's offense or defense.

It does not matter about stats. Barcelona had more possesion but Chelsea had clear cut chances. Chelsea played defensive football but that is what they are good at. What kind of numbnuts is going to expect Chelsea, famed for their boring, monotous, long ball nature to outplay Barcelona? Chelsea had a gameplan and it worked. Barcelona only had one chance on goal and they scored from it. Chelsea will feel they have been robbed and I can rationalise that but honestly they have shown that time and time again Chelsea have no grace or dignity. They are disgusting. Their behavior is incredibly worst then their brand of football.

As for the conspiricy I think it is a load of sour grapes from Chelsea. Hypocritical scumbags.

Are you guys for real? Chelsea and Hiddink screwed Barca back and forth in the two games and showed some great tactical football over the two games (even though it wasnt very beautiful and attacking, they killed Barca). All season it has been said that Utd - Barca should reach the finals and that that would be a dream game, and that is exactly what the ref and UEFA wanted. Now, i dont have any support for Chelsea, Utd, Barca or Arsenal, or any other team that was a part of CL, but to me the game yesterday was always gojng to end with Barca reaching Rome. The ref made some mistakes, the red card one obvious, and he should have awarded at least one penalty to Chelsea during the 90 minutes, I am 100% sure he would have given Barca a penalty for handball in the last minute of the game if things would have been reversed.

This would all be irrelevant if Anelka kept on running and scored. Instead he fell knowing it would be a red card. I'm 99,9% certain he would be able to stay on his feet.

Saying that Chelsea played good defensively in the first match is wrong. How can a team that plays good defensively allow 20 shots on goal? They played one hell of a better defensive game in the 2nd leg, because offense is the best defense, and with the Essien wonder goal they were in the driver's seat. Penalties or not Chelsea would have been better off if they kept attacking instead allowing Barca to circle the ball around the box. Any one of Messi's shots could easily have gone in just the same as Essien's did and then what.