I was half expecting chelsea to get a result but ill be amazed if they manage to get a result at barca and go through as barca will create chances, it will be impossible for chelsea to restrict them away from home so it will be interesting to see what team chelsea put out and the tactics they use.
What an absolutely startling game! Is there another team on the planet as lucky as Chelsea? If they can't attack with any real flair on their own ground against Barca, how the hell are they going to cope at the Nou Camp?
No better than the Goons or United against Barca...1 shot!!! the only reason they've got a result was they had a bigger bus.
amazing stats Dona, but it just goes to show that you can do all the passing in the world and get nowhere. - Barca's only choice was to play their intricate football and find the gaps. Chelsea stopped that very well and it made Barca look very mediocre. They didn't have an alternative tactic. - a couple of times Adriano got down the left and put a cross in, but they didn't have anyone with any aerial ability! at one point last night I looked on the sky sports soccer centre app on my iphone. - Chelsea had 19% of possession. I've never seen that before. Its what we're used to seeing as well, most games we end up with 70% possession+, yet we can't get the result we need.
I don't think they had a player above 5'2" last night so I don't think width would've helped much crossing into Chelsea's huge defenders. Chelsea were incredibly negative and it's difficult when a quality 11 man defence sit in their own half nearly all game, Barca were away from home and created enough to win by 2 or 3 goals but their finishing let them down. I hope Mascherano doesn't play at centre back in the second leg, he was never going to do well against Drogba.
Why do you think it will be impossible for Chelsea to restrict them? Surely that is exactly what Chelsea will attempt. Barca have only one way of playing and although they do that fantastically well Chelsea showed last night that you can disrupt that by adopting PL tactics. I think many are dazzled by the play of Barca and forget that football has many tactical methods. Remember Barca do not win every game as is the case with all teams. Man U get beaten by Fulham or Blackburn, we get beaten by Norwich and so on. Stats. showing possession actually mean little in the real world. You can go back as far as the Notts. Forest European Cup win against Bayern. Forest were out their depth when it came to ball skills, possession and general play but they won using similar tactics to Chelsea last night and funnily enough the same score. Greece won the EC as did Denmark the history of football is awash with such results. Barca are not immune to this any more than any other team.
All true, but Barca will be favourites. I can't see them missing so many chances and then have Chelsea take one of very few attacks. Bayern or Real will be strong favourites if history does repeat itself in the second leg.
Sure Barca will be favourite to win but 2 - 1 is not good enough and Chelsea have just done the same thing 2 games running. The first half against us and the whole game against Barca. Remember it's Barca who are now under pressure not Chelsea.
They certainly weren't at the best but you can't really blame them for playing the ball in congested areas of the pitch because when they played it around their backs Chelsea didn't come out so they had to play it where there were a lot of Chelsea players, otherwise they'd never get near the goal. It certainly wasn't Barca at their best but I thought they were more direct than usual, normally they're a lot closer to the halfway line when they're putting together 40 passes without shooting. Maybe I just found it less boring because I actually gave a **** who won for a change.
You are such a naive prick it's untrue...why take them on at their own game and concede an away goal? RDM got his tactics spot on. Actually better than both, we beat them and our track record against them is excellent... Agreed, they are the clear favourites, but last night makes it a bit more interesting at least
In one off games, we all know anything can happen but to me (to you, to me) i look at the tie overall and due to the game barca play and the pitch at the nou camp then I just can't see barca not scoring and creating a shed load of chances. Last night Chelsea sat back deep, on a narrow pitch and still Barca created clear cut chances so yes Chelsea deserve create for disrupting barcas style of football, however the same tactics won't work at barca, as if they sit deep and try to frustrate them, barca will just drag them out of position and they will score. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see Chelsea go through, mainly because it would be great to see an exciting final, rather then the usual barca show, plus barca have got so many dodgy ref decisions that it seems they get away with murder on the pitch.
If it is sacrilege then it should not be. It is exciting (for a while) to watch supremely gifted ball players pass it around but only for a while. For me they are a bit like the Harlem Globe Trotters fun to see occasionally but I wouldn't want to watch it week in week out. They have one way of playing which depends on them having the best ball players at their disposal. It get's boring because you know exactly how they will play before they appear on the pitch. If all teams played like this I would give up watching football altogether, it would for me be reduced to the level of basketball which imho is the most boring game on the planet. bop, bop, bop, score! bop, bop, bop, score! Yeah great lets see another 100 of those! NOT!
Come on, Luke. It's a game they would have won easily had they taken even half the chances they had. With Barca in front, Chelsea would have been forced to come out of their shell - probably resulting in more Barca goals. Chelsea contributed zero of a positive nature, and their defence was well organised. As you must surely know, a well drilled team, whose only intention is to defend, can be very hard to break down. Barca did break them down on numerous occasions, only to miss some absolute sitters. That is hardly liable to happen twice.
That's what makes them so good. Everybody knows what they are going to do, and how they will play. Still, very few can do anything to stop them.
Everyone knows that baseball is the most boring sport on the planet - no ball, no ball, no ball, walk to first base, repeat. Seriously, when do people actually hit the freakin' thing?!? I'd still prefer to watch Barca week-in week-out than Man Utd diving their way to yet another title. You want to talk about tiresome viewing every week, that's what Chelsea and Man City are.
I thought rounders was good fun, always enjoyed the odd game I much prefer the heartstopping excitement of tiddlywinks to chicken in a basket ball.
Considering how much baseball players earn per year - the average salaries, which can be read here, shows the New York Yankees' wage bill is in line with both Manchester clubs - you'd think they'd earn their money. Instead, MLB is the most soul-destroying waste of time I have ever witnessed, because seasons change between somebody actually hitting the damn ball, despite being paid a shedload of money to do. At least in the NBA they earn their money, with the top players good for 20-30 points a night, and they tend to play 3-4 games a week.
