NOTHING TO FEAR:Chelsea FC 1-0 FC Barcelona

 

A very tight first half ended with a Chelsea counter attack.In a  1-0 victory at home, Chelsea played almost a perfect tactical game. The Blues played almost flawless defense and scored the very important goal in a deadly counterattack even though Barcelona enjoyed a very high possession (72-28) of the ball as usual.Barcelona had 24 attempts to Chelsea’s 5 but still could not find the net.Messi had what some would call an “average” night on the field. People’s expectations of the the 24 year old after his latest record breaking years have become insurmountable.  Didier Drogba‘who scored the goal for the Blues, performed spectacular for the hosting Blues for the entire game.Frank Lampards defensive play on the ball on Messi( the player he claims to be the best in world), turned out to be a very important play as it would later lead to a pass to Ramires  who assisted Drogba for the only goal of the night.

In the second half, Chelsea  did everything they could to hold off an attacking Barcelona. They did it well and had great patience. They also tried to counterattack when they could but did not have many quality chances in the second half. In the last minute, Pedro hit the post and Busquets missed what seemed to be a pretty wide open goal shortly after.

The result makes the second game mighty interesting. Even though no one was really unhappy with the result Chelsea was more positive about the result with  38, 039 in attendance at the game at Stamford Bridge.

“We played well, created 24 chances and still lost – what can you do? We need to create 24 more chances at home in the return,” said Coach Josep Guardiola

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill,Terry (c), Cole; Lampard, Mikel, Meireles; Mata (Kalou 73), Drogba, Ramires (Bosingwa 86).
Unused substitutes: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Torres, Sturridge.
Scorer: Drogba 45
Booked: Ramires 67, Drogba 85

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Alves, Puyol (c), Mascherano, Adriano; Xavi (Cuenca 85), Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Sanchez (Pedro 65), Fabregas (Thiago 78).
Unused sustitutes: Pinto, Pique, Batra, Keita.
Booked: Pedro 69, Busquets 75

Referee: Felix Brych
Crowd: 38,039

 

(Written by Mikko Riipinen for Woodlawn Post)