Champions League Semi-Final: April 18, 2012 - FC Barcelona v. Chelsea FC - [R]

oh i just realized i typed MED (as in medical) instead of MID (as in MIDDLE)

i am no doctor nor i like them and their needles


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GO CHELSEA!!!!
GO BAYERN!!!!!!

 

Well done Chelsea.

Anyone have the stats for distance covered by Chelsea players? Remember seeing that Mata was around 8k when taken off.

Terry, Cahil, Cole, Ramirez and Drogba were all superb.

Still not sure about Cahil, and felt he could have done better on a few occasions in the first half when Fabregas got behind him, but he is a much better player than I thought he was.

Lampard made full use of his Einstein like IQ for that pass to Ramirez - everyone was expecting the ball into the channel for Drogba - super vision and execution from Lampard. The term 'intelligent' is bandied around far too easily in football these days, but that was an extremely intelligent pass.

Drogba's histrionics are frustrating, but he worked his arse off on absolutely no service. Did Chelsea even put in 1 cross from open play? I don't recall seeing one. If he had had the likes of Robben, Duff (in his prime, and Cole(ditto) supporting him Chelsea would have scored more than 1.

I'm one of Drogba's biggest fans, but I would be very tempted to start Torres in the Nou Camp. Or perhaps bring him in for Mata who I think will struggle.

This Barca team lacks the ingenuity of the Barca sides to have visited Stamford Bridge in recent years.

Barca seriously lack a quality set piece taker. Can't really think of a player whose all round game would be good enough for them however.

 

No chance. We need Drogba. He not only provides a focal point in set pieces and attacks, he also defends pretty damn well!

They have excellent set piece TAKERS. They just don't have any good set piece RECEIVERS! Only three players last night were above 6 foot. Puyol, Busquets(********) and Valdes.

They key at Camp Nou is to give away lots of corners and free kicks outside shooting range and to make the most of our set piece opportunities, including throw ins.

 

I disagree...I thought that all they lacked was that killer instict in front of goal - they did everything else right.

 

I think Drogba is Chelsea's best player and their most important player in big games, and I am 90% sure I would start him in the Nou Camp. But thinking back to his previous performances there, he didn't have much of an impact in an attacking sense (seem to remember he got a last minute goal in a 2-2 draw, also got sent off). Sheer pace is a useful weapon at the Nou Camp hence why I would be inclined to fit Torres in somehow.

I think a team like Barca (best team in the world blah, blah,) should have world class set piece takers (Xavi, Messi are very good but not great) - my point is can anyone think of a specialist free kick taker who would have the all round game to play for Barca? Pirlo in his prime for sure,but im struggling to think of others.

 

Technically throughout the side they are a marvel, but I see no mavericks in their side - a Ronaldinho for instance. Watching them reminds of the alien organism from the move Blob, the way they swarm in the opposition's half and suck in the ball - but I didnt think their attacking play was particularly intelligent last night, and I really don't think Fabregas is good enough for their style of play.

I really don't think this Barca team has improved as much as people say, and I feel Chelsea under Mourinho would have rolled them over by a more convincing margin last night.

 

Play Torres against Arsenal. Save drogba for the second leg.

 

Halfway there, good result. Cahill was great, barring his first half.

And how good is Ashley Cole at goal line clearances? He always seems to pull that off with ease.

 

I completely disagree with you and think you are crazy, but hey, to each his own.

Messi definitely conjured up some moments where I held my breath, and Fabregas had that really impressive perfect flick over the top.

I think Chelsea were very fortunate to not give up a couple at least, but I will take it.

 

Judging from the comments on the Barca boards, most will agree that Fabregas did not have his best match. As far as "mavericks" go; Iniesta, Xavi and Messi. All 3 are incredible players and i would argue among the best in the world.

They dominated the match, and they dominate most of their opposition hands-down. I am not sure but I dare say Barca without David Villa can be like Chelsea without Drogs. They are really missing him when it comes to putting the goals away to seal the deal.

I credit the confident defending from Chelsea and a shit-load to the crap finishing from Barca. In the end, Chelsea made their chance count, Barca instead hit the post twice and missed a couple sitters...but I still think they may be the best team in the world.

 

I don't think Fabregas has the ability to keep up in Barcas style of play, and in effect he becomes something of a luxury version of David Platt when playing for them.

I am not disputing that the 3 you mention are incredible players and the best in the world - they are fantastic players.

 

This is Fabregas' first season there, and for a lot of it has either started out of position or come off the bench, despite that he has double digit goals and assists, I think he is plenty good enough for them.

 

One of the rare times I agree with you, but we were definitely lucky!

In 2009, where we restricted them to one shot on target over two legs, we were the unlucky ones, hopefully the luck stays firmly on our side in the return leg!

 

I'll disagree with you...

At Camp Nou, Barcelona actually had 6 shots on goal and an additional 12 off target. It was only in the seond leg at The Bridge that they only had 1 shot on goal (10 off target).

 

They certainly had a lot more real chances than on their last visit to the Bridge!

This was a game in which they could have really used a healthy Villa.

 

I think with wildcard he means an individualist like Ronaldinho, who can possibly force the issue on his own when things aren't going his team's way.

 

While the stats are accurate, they had more real chances in last night's game than even in the 2009 home game. IIRC, the two best chances in that game were two headers (one by Henry, one by Bojan). The second of which was absurdly tricky to pull off.

 

And there's that smile I was talking about before.

 

This. People talk about Barcelona's possession stats while conveniently ignoring that the game plan was clearly 'let them have the ball and drop off at 40 yards out'.

 

I'd agree with this, although he may still improve. It seems mad to say this about such a gifted player, but there are times where his one-touch passing is noticeably under par in this Barca side. Which illustrates the insanely high level that Xavi et al. are at. Villa, another excellent footballer, looks just that little bit out of sync with Barca's game at times as well.

Fabregas brings some other qualities though, he's more adventurous with his passing and that brilliant little chip to Sanchez nearly turned the game.

 

Its the Donadoni blueprint on how to beat Spain aka Barca. They referenced AC Milan well Italy showed in 2008 how to deal with them. The Barca/Spain reign is coming to an end.

 

Milan had the right tactical shape in the previous round. Maybe the only thing they got wrong was picking Boateng who did almost no work when they didnt have the ball. They got the tactics on the money but the ref gave Barca that dodgy 2nd pen and changed the balance of the game. The 3rd goal was an unlucky deflection that bounced straight into the path of Iniesta.

 

His pass to Giuly against Milan is always what comes to mind as the example of the game changing genius he was capable of.

It's no slight on any side to say that they don't have that element to their game. Ronaldinho was pretty unique in that regard.

 

I'm hungover from this match and I didn't even drink.

Fantastic result. Pundits and critics of course are saying we were lucky and we play ugly football. Whatever. So naive to think that it wasn't our tactic to purposefully let Barca have the ball and complete 1,000 passes without meaning. Truth is, if you try to attack Barca, they will destroy you. Soak up pressure and counter. Very proud of the team to be able to adapt their style to different teams. This is an underrated quality many critics overlook. Somewhere, Jose Mourinho is smiling. What an imprint he has left on this club.

This game also kind of reminded me of the US's 2-0 victory over Spain.

New chant: "There's only one stat that matters!"

 

man i love waking up with a smile (and not because i had a naked chick next to me).

COME ON CHELSEA!!!!!