¡¡ Iniesta!!Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona {Agg: 1-1, Barcelona advance on away goals}
------------------------------Iniesta 90+3'
Wow.
Tough to sum this match up in a short post. Chelsea looked much more dangerous thoughout this match than they ever did at Camp Nou. Despite once again having very little possession, the Blues had many more good chances on net than Barça did. While Chelsea looked strong, they did very little to build up play from the back or midfield and their lone goal came on a brilliant -- but one-in-a-hundred -- strike from Michael Essien off a flukey deflection near the top of the box. However, after being held scoreless for 183 minutes, Andres Iniesta (who has been Barça's best player over the last month or more) scored the tie-winner in breathtaking fashion with Barcelona's first shot on target the entire night in the 3rd minute of extra time to send the blaugrana through.
If the first leg ended with Barcelona feeling they'd been robbed by the referee, tonight's match ended the same, but even more heatedly, for the Londoners. To be fair, the referee had a terrible game and Chelsea supporters will surely feel they were cheated out of an appearance in Rome through several missed penalty calls -- the most obvious omission being a hand ball by Pique late in the second half. But the bad decisions affected both sides as Barça's left back Eric Abidal was sent off with a ridiculous red on what appeared to be almost no contact in a challenge against Nicolas Anelka, leaving Barcelona to fend with only 10 men for almost 30 minutes. After the final whistle the Blues completely lost their composure with Didier Drogba flying in the face of the referee and yelling "It's a fucking disgrace" into the TV cameras.
In the end, people can bitch all they want about referees, but it was Chelsea's refusal to push for an away goal in Barcelona which left them exposed. This match will be debated for a long time to come, but the CL Final in Rome is a dream matchup for the neutral. Barça will be missing both their right and left backs-- Abidal and Dani Alves, respectively -- due to suspension (have I mentioned how much I hate the fact that cards are carried over into the final?).
Barcelona will certainly be considered the underdog as they are facing the in-form defending champions and have shown over the last few years to have a very difficult time scoring against English sides. Still, the final will feature the potent strength and attacking power of Manchester United against the finesse of the highest goal-scoring side in Europe in Barcelona. Mouth-watering to say the least.
7 comments:
"In the end, people can bitch all they want about referees, but it was Chelsea's refusal to push for an away goal in Barcelona which left them exposed."
I think you should have this line highlighted and underlined. Though I feel a few pangs of empathy for the Chelsea fans and players, to me this is the key observation. Chelsea's all-defense strategy at Camp Nou came back to haunt them.
Real Marin is going in for a stress test, and looking forward to three weeks rest before Roma.
P.S. Victor Valdés: all is forgiven.
The officiating was horrible in the Man U/Arsenal tie as well with Fletcher's red card and a series of botched no-calls, but it obviously had much less impact on the outcome. Hopefully they'll get better refs for the final in Rome.
As for Alves missing the final, I think he's got nobody to blame for that one. The announcers talked about how he hasn't been especially sharp in the last few matches and I think he's compensated by throwing his weight around (what little there is of it). He seemed out of position on many plays, forcing him to fly in with reckless challenges. A dangerous way to play and I think the yellows were warranted based on what I saw.
As for the penalties carrying over to the final, it does suck, but there has to be some deterrent for dangerous play. I almost wish they used the yellow card even more. If Ronaldo was shown a card for every time he dove to get a set piece, he'd be sitting out the final, too.
Do I detect some slanted commentary by Real Marin? No....
Chelsea was a brave choice against the top Euro goal scorers. almost pulled it off. With a decent ref who wasn't paid off, we'd be through. Two clear penalties - maybe three!
To be fair, Chelsea played their game over the two matches perfectly. Just undone by their finishing. They don't deserve to go through when you don't take your opportunities - especially against Barca! I'm a fan of their away tactics and don't support the criticism here. Masterful.
Glad Chelsea could show Man U how to play against them, but I think those tactics only help you if you're playing the best of two. We'll have to get it right first time.
And definitely more interesting than having an exact repeat of last year....
C&B - I have to agree about Alves. I think he was super amped up (even more than usual) b/c of the hugeness of the match. He was barking at the ref, too far ahead into the attack, committing unnecessary fouls, and sending his typically brilliant crosses way too wide. It was like a pitcher who 'overthrows' because of the adrenalin. Still, he's been great this year, and we will miss him
EI - bias, what bias? Real Marin are complete neutrals here. In fairness though, we never complained about the refereeing in the first leg. As for the tactics, I understand why they are effective and can be appreciated in that light, but it's exactly while I will never root for Chelsea. Are you a big fan of the Baltimore Ravens? Defense may win championships, but sometimes ugly is just ugly. I'm relieved we don't have to see them in the final again.
As for Iniesta... holy shit, we've seen him send that exact shot miles above the crossbar so many times. He got it right the one time it mattered most. Really happy for him.
First of all- that was amazing. Just watched the match today. Still hard to believe...
I agree with all of Marin. EI is more biased than anyone. Come on- Ballack had a real hand ball in the box in the first half, then red card for nothing forcing Barca to play down a man for the majority of the second half, and you really want to complain about the ball off of the shoulder in the last minute. Of course the Chelsea players are gonna complain about it. And you could argue that the refereeing could have been better. But it certainly was not biased towards Barca more than Chelsea. Drogba should be swearing at himself for missing at point-blank range when he just had to get a shot around valdes into an open net.
in case you are wondering, i feel sorry for chelsea not one bit :) And another thing, the way they accosted the referee at the end of time like a bunch of whining teenage girls is a bit embarrassing
Auckland - Don't disrespect teenage girls like that. God help me if my girls ever behave like Ballack did in the closing minutes.
Down boys.
I do hope Drogba faces serious fines. just inexcusable. what a fiasco.
typical chelsea though. Mind you, I'm certainly no fan of chelsea, but was looking to pick up some points off all of you.
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