Fernando Torres celebrates after sealing Chelsea's trip to the final. (AP Images)
If you're a Chelsea supporter like myself, the picture above is probably all you need and what you'll remember from this fantastic match. ESPN Soccernet said in their commentary that this might be one of the greatest matches ever in European football. I'm not sure about all of that, but it's certainly one of the best I've seen.
It was a brutal match that required a brutal effort from Chelsea. Getting the 1-0 win last week at Stamford Bridge was hard enough, but today they had to deal with Camp Nou. Not only that, but they ended up having to do it down a man for the better part of the match.
Everybody knew Barca was going to come out on fire. Everybody knew Chelsea would have to defend their rear ends off. Both of those things happened. Lionel Messi brought Barca out of the gates quickly, just missing a shot wide of the near post in the 3rd minute. In the 19th minute, he put a free kick on target that was brilliantly saved by Petr Cech.
Funny thing was that between those fantastic chances for Messi, not much happened for Barca. They seemed to be at a loss for how to unlock Chelsea's defense, much the same as they were last week in London. Most of their shots came in from distance, and one could see the frustration building on the faces of the Champions.
Barca did eventually find the key though. They usually do, especially at home. Interestingly enough, they scored their first goal after a corner kick, in which you'd figure the bigger Chelsea squad would have the advantage. In the 35th minute Issac Cuenca received the corner and made a great pass to an onrushing Busquets, who promptly slotted the ball past Cech to give Barca the 1-0 lead.
Then things all went to hell for Chelsea. In the 37th minute John Terry got caught putting his knee into the back of Alexis Sanchez away from the ball. The linesman saw it and a red card was issued to the Chelsea captain. It was a totally deserved red card as well. It was a real bonehead move from Chelsea's skipper who should have known better. Then to add insult to injury, in the 44th minute, Messi dished off to Andres Iniesta, who easily banged the ball home to give Barca the 2-0 lead in the match and the 2-1 lead on aggregate. It looked like it was curtains for Chelsea.
The Blues had something to say about that though. In the first minute of stoppage time, Chelsea caught Barca sleeping, maybe thinking they were as good as through. Frank Lampard kicked the ball long into the path of an onrushing Ramires, who promptly chipped the ball over Victor Valdes to make the match score 2-1. and equalize the aggregate 2-2. The Blues went into halftime knowing if they could hold on, they would be through on away goals.
There was no way Barcelona was going to let that happen easily, and their best chance came very early in the second half. In the 48th minute Didier Drogba brought down Cesc Fabregas in the box to concede a PK to Barca. Messi stepped up to take, and I'm not sure you'd want anyone else in football to take it. However, the inexplicable happened. Messi tried to put it in the roof over the mountain that is Petr Cech, and he hit the crossbar! The ball bounced harmlessly away, taking with it Barca's best chance of landing a knockout blow on the Blues.
Chelsea would defend stoutly through the second half, bending but not breaking. If I'm honest with you, they really didn't bend all that much. Barca's style kind of worked against them, as they seemed to piddle around with short back and forth passes trying to think of a way through. In the end it was useless possession as the seconds ticked off the clock.
The match finally went into three minutes of stoppage time, and the Blues fans got the moment they've been craving for over a year. In the first of the three minutes, Tello took the ball into the box and gave it up. While Barca stood screaming for a handball that wouldn't be given in a million years, Fernando Torres broke away on the counter. Somehow Chelsea cleared and he got on the end of it, creating a 1v1 with a stunned and probably bored Victor Valdes. Valdes hit the deck trying to take the ball off of Torres' feet, but El Nino jumped expertly around the prone Barca keeper and tapped the ball into the net, sending the Blues into delirium. It would be the last significant action, the match ended 2-2 and Chelsea took the tie 2-3 on aggregate.
The result sends Chelsea through to the final in Munich next month against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Whatever happens in that match, this one will go down as one of the most memorable in Chelsea history. The Blues seem to have Barca's number somewhat, as Chelsea has only lost to them once in their last 7 European meetings. Lionel Messi has never scored a goal against Chelsea FC.
It has to be said that it was a crushing loss for Barca, who really gave it all on the pitch. Nobody in a million years would bet that Lionel Messi would miss that penalty kick. The cameras panned to Messi right after Torres scored, showing the little genius bowed down with his shirt pulled up over his head. He's one fantastic footballer who is NOT used to losing big games. He is also a class act, as is the rest of Barca, who sportingly congratulated the Blues after the match on their Herculean effort.
I'm not going out on a limb saying Barca is still the best team in Europe and probably the best in the world. They've proved it time and time again. However, this night, this day belongs to Chelsea FC.
Barcelona will be back though, hungrier than ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment