FC BARCELONA & CHELSEA FC finished in a 0-0 draw, which could
be said was a "victory" for the English Club. One of the keys of the
game was the strategy put in place by Chelsea´s "old fox" manager
Guus Hiddink who saw everything as a two game affair & planned it
according. FC Barcelona Coach Guardiola was "outwitted" as he
did´nt see it that way & his team suffered from the frustration &
anxiety of wanting to tie it all up here at "Camp Nou"
FC BARCELONA started strong as expected with ETO´O nearly scoring
early(above), but Chelsea had a plan: defend with a solid wall, mark
the playmakers & counter-attack when possible. This & the physical &
aggressive attitude, displaced the more skillfull, ball touching & creative
game of Barça. There was more ball possession from Barça & naturally
more chances, but ineffective as that did´nt materialize into goals
Chelsea had there chances as well, DROGBA nearly scored mid-late
1ºhalf when Marquez passed short to his goalie that Didier caught &
shot at goal, but Victor Valdes saved the night - literally.
The 2ºhalf was accidental & unfortunate for Barcelona, defender
Marquez did a serious knee injury & will be out for the rest of the
season, Thierry Henry clashed in a header with a Chelsea defender
that momentary left him KO & Puyol who came on for Marquez
received a yellow card that will keep him out of the 2ºleg at
London.
Barça looked for the elusive goal towards the end & had two clear
chances, one from Eto´o that Cech stopped - as all night - & the
second from Messi who did not get in on time for a clear header.
Result a draw; now it´s off to London for the decider. A bit of the
magic has rubbed off from Barça for the English & they should have
the confidence to go into their home game with a moral lift. Barcelona
played better, looked better & had all the chances, but their
impatience to score, their desire to tie it all up made them forget
that there was another game left to play, & that game is in London.
Guus Hiddink knew this, Guardiola should have reminded his players. Tweet
3 comments:
Barcelona is the best thanks for the post!
Wasn't it Bojan, not Messi, who missed the header toward the end?
Looked like Messi to me. Now you put me in doubt. However the news is they did´nt score...
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