After an impressive 1-0 win tonight at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea still have it all to do in Spain next week if they wish to progress to the final! Before the match, many people wrote Di Matteo’s side off as contenders, due to the pure quality of the current Barca team. But clearly Chelsea have proved they are not a side in ‘decline,’ as some critics suggest, and that they are still capable of winning big games against the Worlds best teams.
Didier Drogba struck the only goal of the night in first-half stoppage time as Chelsea shut out the defending champions. The Catalans dominated possession throughout but could not find a way past Petr Cech. The key to the home sides success, undoubtedly lies on their ability to keep Messi quiet for the majority of the match. A disciplined defence prevented the visitors from making the breakthrough to leave Chelsea with a slim lead ahead of next weeks match. A repeat defensive performance from Terry and co will definitely be needed for the away leg in 6 days time.
After the game Chelsea Boss Di Matteo said: ‘It was almost perfect. It’s a great result for us.
‘When you play Barcelona you have to do a lot of defending and they have all the possession, you have to limit their threat and be clinical when you get your chances’
‘Didier Drogba scored the crucial goal for us but it was a collective performance.’
He added, ‘it’s 50/50 now, there is still a second leg to be played away from home.’
Overall statistics show Barcelona had 70% of the possession and 25 shots on goal, this compares to 4 from Chelsea. Barca made a total of 814 passes – Chelsea just 209. Yet, Guardiola’s team still returned to the Nou Camp empty-handed.
Before the second leg, both teams have tough matches domestically. Barca face Real Madrid in the el Classico, this fixture could potentially settle the Spanish league title, as a Madrid win would place them 7 points clear of second place. Whereas, Chelsea will play Arsenal away at the Emirates, with final champions league spots still up for contention. Both sides will naturally go into these games with one eye on the second leg at the Nou Camp. Although the weekends fixtures could have a big impact when considering their importance to each team.
As a fan of the English Premier League, I will certainly be rooting for Chelsea in the away tie. Hopefully they can avenge their controversial defeat to the same opposition at this stage of the competition in 2009. With regards to Di Matteo and his role as Chelsea’s temporary manager, perhaps victory and progression to the final could boost his prospects of landing the job on a permanent basis.
What an effort by the blues. Barca are still favourites in my opinion though!
Very good effort indeed! it’s a tough one predicting who will win next week at the Nou Camp. But I think you’re right, Barca definitely have what it takes to turn the tie around, especially in front of their own fans.
I’m not sure an “impressive win” is the right way to describe it. Chelsea took their one chance well and defended generally solidly but they were completely dominated and Barca missed at least 3 or 4 clear-cut chances. They hit the woodwork twice, Busquets blazed over from 8 yards, Cesc shanked a shot from 6 yards, Sanchez decided to take a touch too many after that little chip – that game could have been 4-1 and Chelsea couldn’t complained.
Still, that’s what you need to do to beat Barca: snatch a goal, park the bus, and get a fair bit of luck. No away goal for Barca could be crucial…
Before the match no-one gave Chelsea a chance. There is only one way to beat Barca, like you said yourself, and that’s how Chelsea played it tonight. AC Milan’s effort to contain them at home was very similar and that ended in a 0-0 draw. For Chelsea to have come away as winners was a great effort. Winning football matches isn’t just based on how a team attacks, preventing goals is also critical. Therefore Chelsea’s defensive play tonight was extremely impressive. Yes, luck did have a lot to so with it, but that’s football.
I’m an Inter fan and it reminded me of the performances against Barca in the semi-finals a couple of years ago when we went on to win it. A lot of the media went on about how it was anti-football and ugly but it did the trick. Also being a New Zealander I still have fond memories of our draw with Italy at the WC which was another snatch a goal, park the bus and get lucky gameplan!
I’m not taking anything away from Chelsea’s performance but I guess I just think a “courageous win” might be a better way to describe it
Agreed, ‘Courageous’ is definitely a better way to describe it. ‘Pretty’ football doesn’t always produce results, take Arsenal for example. I really like your blog by the way, your posts are exactly the kind of thing i’m going to university to study next year!
Thanks!
The only way Chelsea will reach the Champions League Final is by getting a clean sheet in Barcelona. With a 1 goal lead, they are likely to park the bus and not commit too many men going forward. Chelsea contained Messi very well at Stamford Bridge. Ashley Cole should be given extra credit for his great performance.
It will be very tough for Chelsea but Di Matteo seems to be getting the best out of his players, something AVB clearly struggled to do.