MOD NOTE Trolling will be dealt with severely in this thread, especially during the match. You are encouraged to offer your opinions pre- and post- match in a respectful manner, but we ask that during the match you refrain from posting anything that can be construed as a wind-up. Thanks. Also, if you find that your post(s) were moved to the Rivalries thread, stay there. Coming back into this thread and trolling again will result in infractions. **************** Tuesday the 24th of April 2012 Time | Barcelona (CEST), 20:45 | LOS ANGELES (PDT), 11:45 | MONTREAL (EDT), 14:45 | LONDON (GMT), 18:45 [B][URL="http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html"]Convert to your local time[/URL][/B] . [COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000].[/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000][FONT=verdana][COLOR=#000000].[/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR] Camp Nou Barcelona Capacity: 99,354 Stadium Info | Google Street ***************** about Chelsea FC Wikipedia [COLOR=#196397]The Club's official website[/COLOR] [COLOR=#196397]Team page on ESPNsoccernet[/COLOR] **************** Match background • Barcelona are unbeaten in 15 European home fixtures dating back to October 2009, with 13 wins and two draws. They have scored 18 goals in five home games this season. • Barcelona's record at home to English clubs is W15 D10 L2. • Chelsea's record away to Liga opposition is W3 D5 L5. They drew 1-1 at Valencia CF in this term's group stage. • Barcelona's overall record against English clubs is W24 D18 L17. Their record against them in two-legged ties in UEFA competition is W10 L9. • Barcelona lost the 1991 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final 2-1 to Manchester United FC but defeated Arsenal FC in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final and United in the 2009 and 2011 finals. • Chelsea's full record against Spanish clubs is W14 D10 L6. In two-legged ties with Spanish clubs in UEFA competition, their record is W3 L5. • Chelsea won their first European honour by beating Real Madrid CF in the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in Athens, prevailing in the replay 2-1 after a 1-1 draw. • Barcelona have won two and lost four semi-finals against English teams, going down to Manchester United in this competition in 2007/08. Chelsea have lost their three UEFA competition semi-finals against Spanish opponents, including UEFA Cup Winners' Cup defeats by RCD Mallorca in 1998/99 and Real Zaragoza in 1994/95. • Overall Barcelona have won six of their 12 previous European Cup semi-finals. • Chelsea have won nine of the 13 UEFA competition ties in which they recorded a home first-leg victory. When they have won 1-0 they have lost two ties and won three. • Of the 23 UEFA competition ties in which Barcelona have lost the first leg away they have triumphed on aggregate 11 times. On the five occasions they have been beaten 1-0 they have recorded three aggregate victories and two defeats, including the most recent contest against Celtic FC in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup fourth round (0-0 at home). • Chelsea have won one of their five previous semi-finals. ****************** First Leg Result Chelsea FC 1 - 0 FC Barcelona [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBP9mkQeE1U"]Chelsea vs Barcelona 1-0 Full Match Highlights All Goals 18/04/2012 - YouTube[/ame] Previous Meetings • The teams have met 11 times in UEFA competition; Chelsea have four wins to Barcelona's three, with four draws. • Their last encounter came in the 2008/09 semi-finals. After a goalless first leg, Michael Essien struck nine minutes into the return and Barcelona lost Éric Abidal to a red card, but Andrés Iniesta's added-time goal sent them through. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCGRyOJB6Ms&hd=1"]Chelsea - Barcelona Gol de Iniesta ( 2009 UEFA Champions League Semifinal) Mayo 6 09. - YouTube[/ame] • Barcelona's home record against Chelsea is W2 D3 L0, but the London club have drawn on their last three visits. • Barcelona have won three of the clubs' four two-legged contests in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. • Roberto Di Matteo and Josep Guardiola were on opposing sides for the first of these UEFA Champions League contests in 1999/2000. Di Matteo was a 71st-minute substitute in Chelsea's 3-1 home quarter-final win when Guardiola remained on the bench, while both featured from the start in Barcelona's 5-1 second-leg success after extra time. Carles Puyol appeared in both games, and Xavi Hernández started the first leg but was on the bench for the return • The teams also met in the 1965/66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals, trading 2-0 home wins before Barcelona ran out 5-0 winners in a third match at the Camp Nou. . . . No Need for a 2nd stats post. Just go out there and win and go through... . . . Visca el Barça
[LINEUP-4-3-3]Sanchez, Messi, Pedro, Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi, Puyol, Mascherano, Piqué, Alves, VV[/LINEUP-4-3-3] I want to see these players to start and if we are not looking good going into half time I hope Pep will bring in Fabregas for Mascherano, then Cuenca needs to come in followed by Adriano/Tello/Keita. Hope for a win and a final ticket where we can take our revenge for today. VEB, really liked that you have Abidal's picture for this game, we need his courage for this tie.
From the Classico thread: I think Chelsea rested 8 or 9 of their starters. Barca may tire first in this one, which would make it very tough because they do need the win.
I'm afraid that my prediction of our season coming tumbling down in the space of one week might become a reality. Looks like the boys chose a bad time to find themselves in a dip of form.
nah, cause when they scored once you're out Defending has been a problem for Barca in the second half of this season... even when the win the game it was like 2-1 , 5-3. Not a good thing when sometimes you only grab one goal
dosnt mean they are going to score keep a clean sheet, by simply not giving up possession in transition, and score two its not impossible
Yes, but I'm speaking from Barca current defensive form point of view. They conceided not only against Chelsea and Madrid but against mid table team in la liga with 2-1 or 5-3 scoreline.
well up to them to sort it out, they are 90 mins (120 tops) from defending their title if they cant then we don't deserve the chance to create history
If Barca finishing touch is back then I'm not too worry, they have plenty of clear chances against Chelsea and Madrid but they didnt take it. SO its not like they're actually having trouble unlocking opponent defense. I'd rather see Sanchez starting cause Tello is still too green for a big game... making same stupid mistake again and again. If they're at least 1 goal up in first half then I could see them winning Otherwise, prepare for frustating dive, fight, time wasting and all the drama in second half.
Why would Chelsea rest all of their players against Arsenal this weekend? They are chasing a CL spot, which is very important financially and for their prestige. It seems like they are putting all their eggs in one basket - win the CL and automatic qualification for next year. The odds of winning the CL are not that favorable at this point - get past Barcelona and then get past LPB/Bayern, neither of whom they'll be favored against. And now they are 4 points back for fourth in the PL. Bold move. Let's hope it blows up in their faces Tuesday!
I think that may have come right from their owner Roman Abramovich, supposedly he wants to win the CL above all else. IF they make it to the final, a single game, anything can happen. His team has won every other trophy on offer in England at least once or several times since he took over, but despite making something like 6 CL semifinals they've only advanced to the finals once, losing on PKs to ManU. Clearly this is the crown jewel they (he) want more than anything else. They also knew we needed to beat Real to have any chance of winning La Liga. With the advantage of hindsight it might have been better had the Real-Barca gap not shrunk from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4, that compelled us to play for the win. So it was a bit surprising but they also have a deeper squad and less injury woes than Barca this season, so good for them. Even had they lost to Arsenal it might have been a risk worth taking, that they managed the away draw while Tottenham lost means they still have a great shot (they host Newcastle (4th) who have a really hard final 4 games, Tottenham (5th) have it easier but are only 1 point ahead of Chelsea (6th)) I think that at home we'll create even more chances, we'll finish chances, Messi will score a goal, as will another Barca player; if we can keep a clean sheet that will be enough. If we cannot we need to win by 2; tougher assignment. It can still be a great season - 5 of 6 trophies are still in play (and 3 are already in the bag), losing la liga at home to Real was tough, and we don't look to be at our very best. But if we advance to the CL final, especially if we win it than we will have done what no other team has done before. CdR win for even just a 4th trophy (or better a 5th) another reason we do not need to hang our heads. And we lost with grace.
Perhaps a surprising choice appointed by UEFA for this game: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey) 35 years old, his CV is not much considering this is a CL semifinal. He's never had a CL quarterfinal but he did have a Europa League semifinal two years ago (Fulham v Hamburg). However, he is one of the 12 referees who will be in service at EURO 2012. So he is highly regarded by UEFA. List of UEFA matches from this season (no red cards issued): Champions, Matchday 1: Villarreal 0-2 Bayern Munich (3 bookings) Champions, Matchday 3: Real Madrid 4-0 Olympique Lyon (4) Champions, Matchday 5: Manchester United 2-2 Benfica (5) Europa, 2ndR1stL: FC Porto 1-2 Manchester City (8) Champions, 2ndR,1stL: Olympique Marseille 1-0 Inter Milan (4) Europa, 3rdR,2ndL: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Manchester United (3) Last season in the CL he only did three matches, including one each of Barcelona and Chelsea (again, no expulsions): Champions, Matchday 2: Rubin Kazan 1-1 FC Barcelona (5) Champions, Matchday 4: Chelsea 4-1 Spartak Moskva (3) Champions, Matchday 6: Werder Bremen 3-0 Inter Milan (1)
Not sure why it matters who Chelsea rested or didn't, the team is inferior on paper. If Barca play their game and finish, none of this bantering about the line-up against Arsenal is relevant. The only way Chelsea go through is prevent Barca scoring opportunities and not concede a goal, otherwise the conversation Wednesday morning is far different. Chelsea is a team of pretenders, on a hot streak, compared the other parts of their season. If Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Alexis have solid games there is nothing to worry about.
^ defs need to play their A-game as well. Never easy scoring 3 against a team who parks the bus well.
One factor is that their current coach very may well not be there next year, so he is focusing on the present and not the future.
The whole resting notion seems odd, especially since they are sitting in sixth and within reasonable distance to a Champions League place, which is a necessity for a "world class" team like Chelsea or Tottenham. Irregardless, Chelsea could have not played a game this past weekend, they still need a bit of luck not to concede on Tuesday. Keeping the aging elders like Terry, Lampart, Drogba and Cole fresh shouldn't make a difference since they are all clearly past their primes.
We were saying this last week before the first leg. These old timers are motivated, we shouldn't underestimate them. That said, it usually doesn't deserve attention, but we should note how the weather has played a part in the last 2 games: it started pouring rain in each match. For a team like ours that lives on passing passing passing, the soggy conditions slow us down, and more importantly, let the other team keep up with the ball better. Our tiki-taka is most effective when we release the pass just micro-seconds before a tackler can get there. If the ball is slow to arrive at our feet because of tall grass or heavy rain, it takes us a bit out of our fine-tuned comfort zone. The good news: forecast for Barcelona Tuesday is 62 degrees high with 10% chance of rain, which is also what chance I give Chelsea of advancing.
Drogba will play tomorrow, don't worry about that. And he will spend 89 minutes rolling around as if he has been shot, lets hope that in the other minute he doesn't score. This is it now, one big effort, one big performance is needed. And everyone needs to put in a performance, lets not do the sit back and wait for Messi to get us through, Iniesta, Xavi, Sanchez all need to show up. We also need to start positvely, at a fast tempo, come on Messi a hattrick tomorrow and you can put you feet up for a few weeks.
For real. Truth is there is only 90mins - 180 mins left of the season, they gotta treat it like that (not including potential overtime).
Three matches left this season: this, the Copa final and the CL final. No room for error in any of them. Easy to believe the team to be hungry for a CL final spot, especially after the hurtful loss in el Clasico.