UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Semi-final, second leg Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2 Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate:THERE ARE many emotions inspired by Chelsea's place in the Champions League final but, more than anything, it is sheer wonder. They refused to be cowed after John Terry's red card and deserve their place in Munich on May 19th simply because of their heroism. As triumphs in adversity go, the night they overcame Barcelona is going to take some beating.
Terry’s idiocy means he will not be in the team to play either Bayern Munich or Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires will also be suspended because of their bookings but that told only part of the story on a night of rare achievement and, yes, glory, too.
Chelsea’s hopes seemed to have vanished during that eight-minute spell towards the end of the first half when Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta scored either side of Terry being sent off for his off-the-ball clash with Alexis Sanchez.
To recover from that position was extraordinary and, for Roberto di Matteo, these are the moments when it becomes increasingly difficult to comprehend how he can not get the job on a permanent basis. Ramires chipped in a brilliant goal on the stroke of half-time to put Chelsea ahead on the away goals and, amid the highest form of drama, Lionel Messi then missed a 47th-minute penalty, Barcelona struck the post, had a goal ruled out for offside and then, in the final seconds, the Chelsea substitute Fernando Torres was suddenly running clear to round Victor Valdes and seal an almost improbable victory.
For long spells Barcelona’s superiority was so marked the 10 men were just grateful for the breaks in play when they could catch their breath. It was a desperate backs-to-the-wall operation, made all the more difficult because Gary Cahill had succumbed in the opening exchanges to a hamstring injury.
For Chelsea, this was always going to be a night when their defending had to be absolutely right. What their supporters, on the highest rows of this vertiginous stadium, could never have imagined was that they would play the majority of this match with Ramires at right-back, Ivanovic and Jose Bosingwa as the two centre-halves and only Ashley Cole in his orthodox position. Bosingwa had started out as a right-back when Cahill went off, with Ivanovic moving into the middle. Then Terry went off and there had to be another reshuffle.
Camp Nou is no place for a team with these kind of disadvantages. This is a Barcelona side that had accumulated 102 goals at Camp Nou coming into this match, despite playing the majority of the season without David Villa.
Pep Guardiola’s team have made an art of picking off opponents who sit on the edge of their own penalty area and Terry badly let down his team-mates when he arrived behind Sanchez, with no apparent provocation, and delivered a sharp knee into the back of the Chilean’s thighs.
Two minutes earlier, Daniel Alves had driven forward from defence and Isaac Cuenca had turned the ball across the penalty area for Busquets to score into a hopelessly exposed net. Barcelona had been pinning their opponents back. For Terry to be so reckless was a complete neglect of his duties and calls into question, not for the first time, what goes on inside that mind.
What followed was nothing short of extraordinary given that seven minutes later another burst of short, incisive passing saw Sanchez and Messi combine to put Iniesta through the inside-left channel to make it 2-0. Barcelona were suddenly in utter control and then, almost out of nowhere, Lampard’s pass had released Ramires and he was bearing down on goal.
By that stage the Brazilian had already been booked and knew he was out of the final whatever happened. His finish, though, was both audacious and beautifully executed, chipping his shot over Valdes for a goal that turned the game upside down.
Chelsea can be only commended for their spirit of togetherness. Guardiola had started the match with three defenders and Busquets as the only classic holding midfielder. The other six players were all, in essence, attackers.
The movement, anticipation and speed was a blur. Yet they came up against an inspired goalkeeper in Petr Cech.
If Messi had scored with his penalty, for example, the second half would have taken on a far different complexion, but his shot cannoned off the crossbar and Drogba’s trip on Cesc Fabregas went unpunished.
How costly that was for Barcelona as Torres chased a long clearance and kept his nerve just when it mattered the most.
Guardian Service
BARCELONA:Valdes, Puyol, Pique (Dani Alves 26), Mascherano, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Cuenca (Tello 67), Messi, Sanchez, Fabregas (Keita 74). Subs not used: Pinto, Thiago, Pedro, Adriano. Booked: Iniesta, Messi.
CHELSEA:Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill (Bosingwa 12), Terry, Cole, Mikel, Meireles, Mata (Kalou 58), Lampard, Ramires, Drogba (Torres 80). Subs not used: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Sturridge. Booked: Mikel, Ramires, Ivanovic, Cech, Lampard, Meireles.
Referee:Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
Attendance:95,845
