Torres must have covered a wedge of his signing on fee with that goal and if he does the same in the final all his previous drought this season will be forgoten eh ?
" Beware of Torres next season " ....watch this space because there is a ton of talent ready to break out !!
How could they possibly argue though that it wasn't a red card? John Terry is a plank of the highest order lol.
And the best part is, he`ll miss arguably the most important game in their history. "He backed into me ref, and I had to put my knee into his back to save myself from injury".
The problem now is that they have so many suspensions and injuries that they may have to recall McEachran's loan
Great tactic by Chelsea to get John Terry sent off.How were the Barca players meant to concentrate on football with him let loose in the stands with their wives ...Brilliant
Last night's match was a remarkable spectacle. First for the game itself as sport's entertainment; second, for the many technical take aways that apply to us. Everything that happened in that game is in many ways illustrative of some of the frustrations, failings, weaknesses, strengths, positives and successes that we have experienced this season with the Swans. Lessons to be learned and it's going to force me to look at a number of our matches again (Newcastle in particular) in a different light and within a different context. I'm going to do that once the season ends. There are some things that standout immediately. First, to get the obvious out of the way, Terry's indiscipline and stupidity could have cost Chelsea the match. Barca could have, perhaps should have, cracked the nut open after that and demolished them in the time it took them to reorganize. Chelsea were lucky it happened just before half time. Overall Barca were / are the better team, but not the better executors and finishers over the two legs; and as we have learned too often this season chances given get taken at this level. The first lesson from the match is that when a disciplined, well organized team parks the bus, even a team as techically gifted and well schooled as Barca can be stopped, especially when they don't appear to offer a "plan B" in offensive approach. In Chelsea's defense this tactic was forced on them by Barca, even with a full side Chelsea were not well equipped to compete for possession in the middle of the park. In many ways Barca's style was their own undoing as the catenaccio that Chelsea were forced to play with a man down, because of the compaction of space in the final third, forces the offensive team to drop a player or two back just to relieve the conjestion - this evens out the numbers engaged on the field. Think about the number of games this season where our style forced a similar defensive posture on the other team and we ran into a road block of our own making. Last night Barca had no solution to it. The second lesson is that under these circumstances a lack of height in the midfield and offensive lines is a real handicap because it removes the third dimension as an attacking path and forces the ball on the ground where players and the ball run into road blocks. Had Barca had a player or two with dominant aerial ability they could have tried alternative approaches to breech the penalty box. The third lesson is that failing to get behind the defense out wide forces everything to come through the "front door", which is heavily fortified. When Barca did get behind the Chelsea back line out wide they scored - Busquettes' goal. Despite their speed and skill out on the flank (Cuenca and Alves) they seldom threatened from behind the Chelsea wall choosing time and again to turn back and play cross field into the center deeper positions. In hindsight this is surprising and shows a little lack of imagination on their part. We are a work in progress and playing almost on the cutting edge of football style without the tools that Barca, the pioneers, have at their disposal. We do a pretty good job at what we do, we are learning and adjusting and improving all the time, but because of our style we have and are going to encounter the same frustrations and difficulties offensively that Barca ran into last night on an increasingly regular basis. We all need patience, there's no obvious solution, there was none to Barca last night. What has uncle Buck in store for us next season? How is he going to solve the stalemate in the final third.
Good, thoughtful observations, Yankee. I'm sure that we are all aware of the points you make but it was summed up very nicely.
barcelona were by far and away the better side and should have been in the final. anyone who watched both games would know this, on another day barcelona would have won both games 5-0. however chelsea accepted inferiority and were efficient and ruthless up front. barcelona the opposite, countless chances and complete domination in both games but they didnt stick the ball in the back of the net enough times. alot of money for abramovich to pay for a team to park the bus (£700m or something?). the same thing happened 2 years ago with internazionale and barcelona. in the league the best team always wins but not necessarily in cup competitions, as mourinho rightly pointed out. as for the strength / weakness of the league, only one team made the quarters of both the europa and champions league. the two sides going head to head for the league were comfortably beaten by second tier sides in bilbao and lisbon. in the competition they mock other teams for being in. this hasnt been a vintage year for PL teams in europe but somehow chelsea have made the final. i cant see them winning it at the best of times, even less so with at least 4 players missing.
Well said yankee, I'm sure Rodgers sees the issues, as it was demonstrated so well last night!...........
Call me stubborn, but I'd genuinely rather lose than play like Chelsea did over the two legs. Playing the way we, Barcelona, and a few other teams try to, you'll normally do enough to win a fair percentage of your games and I think it's much more pleasing to watch. Give me mid-table mediocrity with nice football to watch over a Champions League final with that dross every time. Would Stoke suddenly become a hugely followed team if they'd managed to win the Europa League? No. For a reason, because fans of football can appreciate, but rarely like, that style of football. Park the bus? Fine, but not in Swansea! Edit: I firmly believe Munich will absolutely munch(en) Chelsea in the final. Madrid vs Munich last night was an example of what happens when two teams full of individually brilliant players oppose each other, with certain players given free reign. The other semi was the complete contrast, with two teams adhering to a tactic with so much discipline that, essentially, one team was attacking and one was defending (and countering occasionally). I think to play like Bayern or Real do, however, relies on having THE best players in the world and that kind of high-tempo, high-class football is unobtainable for all but the very elite. Playing as we do, however, can bring modest success to anyone brave enough to work on it long enough to become functionable.
