Preview: Champions League semi-final, Barca v Chelsea. 1:45 p.m. CT, ESPN2

T U - no need to apologize: I wasn't offended.

Ahsan - I believe in having faith in one's principles too, and I don't think barca should abandon theirs (still, I think that they might need to do something a bit clever). Like I said before, it's only your belief that one's playing style should be stuck with. What if chelsea's philosophy is that any system is acceptable in order to achieve results? In that case, they have stuck to their principles; it's just that they're not your principles.

Citizen - nothing very profound, just that people here (understandably) were quick to deride chelsea for playing anti-football because the thought process they had in the back of their minds was, "That was bad, this is objective truth, thus you were bad to play it." and all I'm saying is that you shouldn't look down on how another team plays just because that system doesn't fit your own philosophy on football. This is analogous to the (equally understandable) assumption that I was a chelsea fan because it would appear to make no sense if I weren't: you can't apply your own behaviourisms to someone else. You said it was clear that I was concerned with respect from opponent fans. Perhaps that is true on a deeper level, but only if by "respect" you meant "my definition of respect". Really, it's nothing profound: if you still confused, it's only because I'm not explaining it very well. Besides, this is a football site, so I don't want to keep harping on about esoteric points on existentialism!

The fact of the matter is, footballing philosophy is, like someone pointed out earlier, very very subjective. What's great about this world is we are entitled to our own but to impose it on others is what we should be wary of. To deem Chelsea's tactics as anti-football, or whatever, I think is wrong. They have their own philosophies and objectives, we have ours. It's our pride that forces us to keep this attacking mentality wherever, and whoever we play. It's Chelsea's issue and they have the freedom to play whatever they want.

From the result's point of view, Chelsea did well. Organized defense all throughout. But from a fans' point of view, it made the game really boring. I think this is what frustrates most Barca fans, like me, who have been accustomed to high intensity and very entertaining matches.

What pisses me off the most is Hiddink saying before the game that we will be playing to win, and we will attack. What a huge liar he turns out to be. =/ I know we can win in a more open game next week at Stamford Bridge. I'm just worried about who'll play CB with Marquez and Puyol out. Abidal or Caceres maybe?

Guys,
we need to be more worried about who's gonna partner Pique in central defence for the return leg.
Caceres hasn't played for mroe than 3 months I think, Abidal was horrible the last time i saw him(That was when he played for france against Italy).......

SB:

What you call dogmatism, I call belief in one's self and system. No one is saying you can't make minor changes here and there, tinker around a little bit, but one's philosophy -- if one truly believes in it, and the talent to execute it -- should not change wholesale from situation to situation.

Again, I should emphasize that I don't have a real problem with the logic of Chelsea's tactics: they were here to get a 0-0 draw, maybe nick an away goal if they got lucky, and roll the dice at the Bridge. That is fine, as far it goes.

But what I have a problem with is EPL fans claiming their league is the best. How can their league be the best if the two top teams in the last five years are SO intimidated by us that they completely abandon their style of play? Even Real Madrid, who walked in to the Camp Nou in December in complete and utter disarray (sacked manager in mid week, bad run of results) meeting an absolute rampant Barca team (Barca's best run this year was probably October to December) played more aggressively (not by much, mind).

I'm sure we will come out on top after the last 90 minutes. Yet, it's safe to say I'm a little worried. All we can do is support our great team, come next week we'll go to play at the bridge and in a couple of weeks we'll go play in Rome. Simple as that, we all know it.

nattsmash: Barcelona's mentality is set in stone. For other teams with different goals, sure, the tactics can go from all-out beautiful attack to defending without any form of attack whatsoever.

But Barcelona's mentality is that of winning through courage, hard work, style, attack, and tenacity. It's also about pride and heart.

Any change in that is like the Catholic church removing the pope, or England getting rid of the queen.

OK, there was some good Chelsea defending, but there was some bad mojo or nerves or fatigue or something everytime we got 25 yards from goal. Where were, at least, the shots off the bar? We played like ourselves in the midfield (and a bit like an EPL team at times too) but there were no fire-crackers in the boots in the final 3rd.

Alves had a few M-80s with those crosses late in the game, but the kindling was already damp.

On my little laptop SPF45 seemed to dive a few times (hard to tell when he's the size of a "worker" carpenter ant.) I think he should stay up and just start taking names and hand the list to Queen-Ant-Yaya at half time. "Mess with these MANDIBLES punks!"

Yaya played 2 games today: one "perfect-passes-barca-style" and one "you-trip-us-we'll-trip-you-EPL-style." I can't believe the announcers on ESPN360 questioned why he was starting. Does the world not know?

Interesting days ahead cules. In Pep We Trust.

@SB again,

I don't understand your analogy; can you please explain it? It is perfectly reasonable to assume that a user who posts for the first time at a Barcelona fan site after a match against Chelsea and happens to have a pro-Chelsea slant (irrespective of whether that slant is justified or not) is also a Chelsea fan. If not, please correct me.

Sorry, just had a "Yaya" moment there... but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Keepin' it civil!!

As a chelsea fan, i'm not concerned that our performance was 'anti-football' or boring, as long as it works and we get results. Sure it would be nice to play expansive attacking football every single game, but if we had done that against barca you probably would have beaten us. You have to adapt your game to your opponents, whats the point in playing exciting football and getting beaten? there is too much at stake in top class football to just try and please the purists. Saying all that, i think not getting an away goal will hurt us and we have a huge task in beating Barca 'proper' at the Bridge.

I have a very good feeling about this match. A draw is not a bad result. The only worry is the weekend back line. The boys can approach the EE game with a fresh challenge, a win will be ideal. But even if we draw, it will keep the league lead intact and to face chelsea away at Standford bridge will be a good time. Although i fear the fatigue and travel may take its toll. Well we all knew it anyways. Messi will have a better match on the return leg. He just cannot have this long bad spells. I hope he will fire in all cylinders at the Bernabau and carry on the good work at SB. Yaya is a man mountain and he is so underrated in the world media. It was so elegant to watch our midfield retain possession and our forward line play frustrating ping ball football.
Kudos to Valdes...he stepped it up at the big stage and saved the match for us. Pique was excellent. The guy has progressed leaps and bounds this season.

Before the match the English commentators kept saying Barca is not tested yet and that Barca would not be at the top of the table had they be playing in EPL. Well i hoped to believe that...but at the end of the match it was pretty clear to me that there are no equals out there to test us.
Winning or loosing is just a matter of details.

It's football. And it's a CL semi final game. There are going to be harsh words if things don't go as we want them to.

We're normally welcoming and nice people, though. :)

at SB, you are welcome here whenever. most of us try to keep it civil, so dont let one person ruin that for you. please come back, as all of us love a good footy debate.

firstly i like to congratulate chelsea for their excellent defending in tonights game. It is somewhat funny to me that with all the banter about the EPL being the best league in the world and the top four english sides dominating europe, that last years champions league winner and runners up both have to opt for the most anti-football tactics when playing against barcelona. I think chelsea supports should all be unhappy with the tactics employed in tonights game as we all know that they can play an attacking style yet resort to gutter football instead.

Both Iniesta and Pep talked bad about Chelsea's game.

"I do not know if we will lift a cup in the end, but I can assure you that we will go on holiday without any regrets and without people saying we should have any." - Guardiola

Good words!

Xavi also had good things to say (Before the match): "We go everywhere to win, from minute one and even more with this coach. He demands we always play to win from the start."

I was looking at the replay of bojan's chance, and it seemed like leo was in a good position just behind him for a volley, maybe he should have called for bojan to leave the chance, or maybe he thought bojan couldnt miss from 4 yards. Credit to bojan for getting in the great postion though, too bad he just couldnt keep it down.

Oh, well seeing as you asked so politely...

@SB... you need to shut up and go back to the Chelsea website. Nobody cares what you think... All of us Barca supporters have two words!!! Visca Barca!

Ahsan - is it courageous to rigidly stick to only one system of playing? I'm not so sure many people would agree with you on that. Ideology is one thing, but dogmatism is another.

Citizen - ah, but now everything comes crashing down: who said I was a chelsea fan?

The debate that you should be having in your head right now about whether I am a chelsea fan or not and the reasons for me being here if I'm not is a perfect analogy to my point on "anti-football".

By the way, if that match was a one legged tie, I imagine we would have won by 3 goals, such was the clear difference in quality between the two teams

I was surprised that Chelsea didn't try to score an away goal as it is vital in European competition.
There is no longer a 'home advantage' in two legged affairs, rather a home disadvantage.
At home you have to be cautious.

A 0-0 against a team that played as negatively as Chelsea did is a good result. Would Liverpool have gotten 4 if Chelsea played like that? No.
Tonight Chelsea played 3 defensive midfielders, 2 'attacking' midfielders and Drogba chasing down the defenders meaning that they had virtually no attacking threat except for 1 mistake that Marquez made.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea cannot play like that, sitting back and soaking up pressure, because if they concede then they go out.
They have to attack and attempt to control the ball more. As we have seen for the past 50 matches, no one can control the ball against us.

One thing that is for sure, we will have to score and keep things very tight. If we score first then it will be all but over.

If we had won 2-0, their media would still praise them for spirited defending, and limiting us to only 2 goals.

SB:

No. I define "courage" as "playing the way you always play". The Italian teams had one style, and they stuck to it irrespective of who their opponent was, so fair play to them, even if it was boring. But Chelsea clearly did not have enough belief in their own talent or system, else why would they change it for the biggest game of the season? Same as United last year.

Mind, Liverpool didn't change their style too much in 07 when they beat us on away goals. That's worthy of some respect. So it's not all English teams, just the scared ones.

Well all i can say is that every team has its own philosophy and Chelsea's own is to kick the ball downward,hope something happens, and defend like bitches when its to hot for them to handle.

But i don't blame them cuz its a competition an every1 wants to win.I'm just glad that a so called big four had to rely on doing this to stop a Non-Epl team and at least some reports are bashing Chelsea for defending like regulation struggling teams.

Jason - playing "honourable" is subjective. My point on barca's naivety is this: I agree with OhYes that individually most of barca's players played well; yet, the end result was disappointing I bet most of you would say (truthfully, you all expected more). So, what went wrong? Luck? I'm just of the opinion right now that barca were quick to run out of ideas once what they were doing failed to produce what they expected. That's all I'm willing to correct you on since I'm not all that willing to run in circles slinging faeces about.

Ahsan - "courage" is subjective. Yes, they couldn't hang with you if they played like that. That's not a revelation. Besides, success and your criteria on playing well ("courage", I take it) are not the same thing, so its illogical to use the lack of that said "courage" as a means to refute the premier league's success. In analogy, nobody disputed the dominance of the Italian teams a decade ago, even if some people called their football "bad".

OhYes - yes, I agree that nobody had a really bad game; yet (like I said just above) the result was disappointing. Take the end of the first half and the indiscipline that Alves and Yaya seemed to be getting in - that was pure frustration (ok, maybe it was, perhaps, caused by the refereeing). My ultimate point is that, just like at Old Trafford, barca only ever tried playing one way and it got them nowhere because their opponents had a counter-system. I'm not saying that barca should abandon their philosophy of attacking football, but that maybe they need to do something clever if they want to get to the final.

We most often score from within 12 yards, and often in crowded tight spaces--no less cramped than they were tonight. So I have to put this (our not scoring) down to the fact that the killer instinct was not in effect tonight. We could play the same game next week and score 3, if that's on. Some of the shot/pass selection was poor, but missing some of the chances we did have is scandalous.

I don't take much offense to Chelsea's strategy and they executed it well, though if they had pushed forward a little more they probably would have had a goal(s)...Drogba really should have put that first half double chance past Victor but there weren't too many of those. I wouldn't enjoy watching a team that played "parking the bus" all the time, but it's gotten them in a decent spot for next week, so good for them. And I say this as someone with less than zero love for Chelsea, even when they are playing a full on attacking game. Did I mention that I"m surprised all their fans haven't gotten herpes just from looking at Ashley Cole?

@SB:

Though I agree in principle with your claim that different fans may value the three in different ways – in fact, that my point was exactly that you can't have all three, not that one was better than another –, in your postings alone you clearly demonstrate that at least one Chelsea fan cares a great deal about respect from opponent's fans :)

Corrine: He hasn't been at his best recently but he just didn't have as much room as he normally does. When it was 1v1 against a defender, he did great, but he didn't have many of those opportunities.

This is why it's important that he learns how to pass, and he did ok in that department. There was a chip pass to Alves that I really love. I need to find video of that.

But still, he's not at his best right now. It could be fatigue, or it could be that he's holding back his energy-wasting runs.

My view on this is that yes, it's fine for Chelsea to play this way, as it secures the best chance of them going through. But what is not fine is the incessant chatter from EPL fans about how their league is the best when their teams don't have the balls to come out of their shells and play. It's not about judging others' styles, but judging others' courage. This is not Chelsea's typical style -- if it was, it wouldn't be a problem. But they're changing their style in a big game because they know they couldn't hang with us. So even if it's ok by standards of "whatever works, works", I'd really appreciate if all EPL fans stop talking up their league.

once again, Hleb manages to screw us over with a great chance. and this one actually mattered

Giving everyone man marking assignments isnt Tactical Genius.

@ SB. You cannot call Barcelona Naive for playing attacking football and us not scoring. What? do you think we didnt know that Chelsea WASNT going to resign playing footy and just defend for 90 minutes? Its not that we didnt know that wasnt going to happen, it is that our team philosophy dictates that we play to win. We attack. We do this thing called playing football(watch some spanish league if your curious as to what that looks like).

We know full well that playing the honorable way isnt always going to win Championships, and we will admit that, but to call us naive is incorrect. We knew that we were going to attack, and we knew that Generic top 4 Prem team (chelsea, was it? who cares?) was too scared to play soccer against us.

Its fine, i hope that Chelsea find some balls when we play in london, that way if they attempt to play some footy against us, that will give us all the space we need to shove a goal down their throats, and that sends them looking for two.

Sadder than Chelsea's cowardly display is Chelsea fan's accepting this performance. Any team that wants to be the best in the world has to have a winning mentality. Any team that goes into a game with the game plan of preventing the opposition from playing football, by means of them not playing footy either has already resigned themselves to being the smaller team.

After that game, all i can say is that i am Proud to be a Barcelona supporter.
Visca el Barca

Like I said before, Chelsea defended well. There was no last-ditch defending like other teams and the malicious tackling was kept to a bare minimum.

As for performances in particular, I felt that Alves was playing below his normal level. But I expected that, tbh, because he has been playing like this for a few games now. Can't connect with Messi like he was doing earlier in the season, when he was the 2nd best player in the world, and his passing has become a bit iffy. But I really enjoyed his work ethic and his defending is improving game by game.

Yaya was another player who impressed me today. He also works hard but his biggest attribute is his defending. He was constantly taking the ball from Chelsea and preventing as many attacking options as possible.

Iniesta. What else is there to say? He dribbled, pressured, tackled, and passed very well. He's Xavi and Messi in one. No complaints at all. He actually took on Essien and won. Earlier in the season he was so fragile and weak that I'd only think of him beating Essien if I was on crack.

Pique was also amazing. This kid came out of nowhere and he's easily becoming one of Barca's best. Marked and tackled well, although his header was weak. He was probably surprised when he won that ball (there was a Chelsea player between him and the cross), so I'll let him off the hook. In the second half, he prevented Drogba from going 1v1 against Valdes. He did the best he could after Marquez's horrible pass.

And Cech had a decent game. There were blunders, definitely. He cleared the ball way out of the box and gave it directly to a Barca player, he punched away a ball he should have caught, he got tangled with one of his own players during a corner, and he spilled a ball that Barcelona should have capitalized on, but his saves were good.

do you guys think messi failed to be a threat because of bosingwa or because he just hasn't been up to his level for the past few matches?

if etoo had just passed the ball we probably would have come out with atleast 2 goals scored. not a bad result, though it obviously could be better., just wasteful infront of goal. and i think this is the 1st quiet big game ive ever seen messi have. heres hoping he unleashes in the next 2.

I don't mind barca believing in their values, but their values are their own. There is no objective criteria on which you are justified on calling some opinion on other team. Citizen - maybe chelsea fans don't want b) or c)? Or at least, place them lower than a)? Who knows. But you can't say, "This is how I think we should play, therefore this is the way that all teams should play; thus, I deride you for not playing that way." The English, Italian, Germans etc. all have their own judgements on how the game should be played and what is acceptable or not, and it's foolish to use your criteria in judging another team's game plan. You can only control how you play, so focus on that. Right. Enough existentialism.

I think you'll find, pusillanimous, that this board is full of respectful, intelligent commentators. However, you have to understand that out of the 52 games Barca's played this season, they've only gone without a goal twice. And really, only once with the full squad which happened 52 games ago! (The other was a 0-0 draw in the Copa del Rey without any of the normal starters).

So, I think we're all prone to a little craziness when we haven't seen a 0 for our side since August 31.

Although I'm a regular "EE" poster and fan, I was disappointed to see the draw at home today for you all as well as the Marquez injury. Give a hell of a lot of credit to Chelsea's marking as your normal quick passing was well-covered. Hope your side represents the rest of Europe better at the Bridge, I don't want to see an all-English final again!

Looking forward to another enthralling Clasico weekend in La Liga...best of luck.

It's a three-way paradox: (almost) all fans want their team to a) win, b) play an attractive game, c) be respected by the opposing team's fans (irrespective of result). In the case of Chelsea vs. Barça, this is a triangle of impossibility, an unholy trinity of which Chelsea fans can only dream. Sure, the way they played today gave them the best chance of achieving a), but lost them all hope of attaining b) and c). Had they came out and attacked today, as Hiddink had claimed he would, then surely b) and c) would be within reach, but a) would be but a dream.

Your pick, Chelsea fans, just don't ask for respect where it's not deserved.

Unlike Real Madrid, though, at least they got one of the three in the CL (the league remains to be settled).

"While I am coach of this team we will go out and attack in every game.
"I do not know if we will lift a cup in the end, but I can assure you that we will go on holiday without any regrets and without people saying we should have any."-Pep

I know some people don't like it when cules feel this way, but i love this about barca. Pep knows that in the end, what matters is that we give 100% effort and try to play attacking and pretty football. The CL is fickle, things happen and ultimately how successful a season is should not be judged by whether you win the CL or not. Thats why La Liga is more important to me. That being said, I don't want to make it seem like I think this is that bad of a result. I would have loved it if we had scored, but Mario is right, 0-0 and 2-1 are pretty much the same, and most of us would have taken 2-1 before the game.

thank you JeffP, at least there are some barca fans with a little bit of class

Really disheartened after this one, fellas. Chelsea didn't attack at all today and somehow our back line was still shaky. Combine an attacking Chelsea side against a back line with Caceres in there and....let's just say I don't have a good feeling about the second leg.

Bottom line is Hiddink is a tactical genius. You can call it parking the bus or non-football or whatever. I call it the perfect way to give Chelsea the best chance to progress against a team like Barca. There's no valor in playing into the hands of an opponent, which is what they would have done had they decided to pressure the midfield and force the attack all match. Should Hiddink throw out the only strategy that has contained Barca at all the entire season just to try prove his side is capable of keeping up with the opposition's attack? That's craziness.

So let's stop whining and give credit where credit is due. They defended well and limited our chances. Let's just hope they decide to go on the attack at the Bridge and open up some space for our guys up front.

Like I said before, I thought barca were too naive. Their game plan appeared to be just do what you've been doing already and you'll score. However, chelsea are more technically sound defensively than any other team they've met so far. Yes there were a few good opportunities, but most of the time there was a lack of any creativity and most opportunities were closed off fast. So what should the game plan have been? Should tactical changes have been made?

Well, seeing as we've put our points across and ended it civilly enough, how about thoughts on the performance?

No bitterness here. Just disappointed in chelsea is all.

But like others have said, I shouldn't have expected any better.

Hey, I'm not here to kick people when they're down, I just think it's stupid to call chelsea (and all english teams) anti-football when they defend away from home one game away from the cl final against a very good attacking team. Like I said before, systems vs systems. Barca play slick passing football and try to exploit space, so you defend well and close that space in the hope that home advantage will see you through. I've stated my point, OhYes, so there's no point feeding your bitter outlook on life's disappointments any more.
Good luck in the return leg.

There's no shame in defending against a good attacking team.. but there's shame when you're paying millions for a bus that other teams get using dollar bills.

It's so sad that Espanyol and Getafe (teams fighting against relegation in La Liga) put up a bigger fight than Chelsea.

That's something I would never be proud of if I were a Chelsea fan.

Hilal - european football is about different systems playing against one another. Nobody said that barca aren't strong in attack. You play to your own strengths. There's no shame in defending against a good attacking team that exploits space. Get over it.

OhYes - football can be played any way thought necessary. It's not against the rules. Personally I find it more shameful all the diving that went on in that game. That was a disgrace.

It's funny how my Chelsea friends are bitching because they're not getting enough "credit" for containing the best attacking side in Europe, and instead being criticized for parking the bus. Well I am sorry but there is nothing admirable about a top European club playing AWAY in a Champions League SEMI FINAL and doing nothing but defending.

Not impressed with Samy's game lately but I can't really imagine Pep starting Bojan for semifinals :/ and I haven't really seen Dani playing at his best either. His crosses used to be godly but now I can't even tell if he's about to go for goal or a cross when he shoots towards the net

Ah Chelsea fans trying to defend their teams cowardly display. LEt me ask you something....the EPL is supposed to be the best league in the world right? With the top four being the best teams in the world?...or at least that is what their press would like you to believe. So let me ask, why is it that everytime one of your big teams comes to play us they play like a team fighting relegation. Actually scratch that. I have seen teams at the bottom of the table come and be more adventurous. I can understand them doing it, but come on, the all mighty english teams? None of your teams would ever dare face us head on because they know we are better. Chelsea dont play like this against Utd, or Arsenal or Liverpool. Why are they so scared of us? Why do they feel the only chance in hell they have of even getting a draw is to play with 10 men behind the ball. Its a shame on your league and worse it is a shame for football.

That was incredibly frustrating but I think we will still get through. We must keep our heads up, we can do it in London. Match report in at Fcbnews - http://www.oleole.com/blogs/fc...

haha, barca are the cowards for trying to play and win..good stuff.

On the weekend, I want Bojan to start in place of Eto'o, and Keita to start in place of Henry. Those two need to be sent a message: you can't be as prolifigate in front of goal as those two. Inietsa to push up on the left in our traditional 4-3-3.

My review of the Chelsea game here: http://fiverupees.blogspot.com...

This wasn't a "hard" game by any means, 4 clear cut chances versus a chance created by a Barca blunder and you're saying Chelsea played well? Haha. They defended well, but football they did not play.

Tajh - what, as opposed to the spanish press (and everyone else too) having a wa-k every time barca pass the ball?

And it's a bit bitter calling the english teams anti-football. 4-4 anybody?

As I see it, barca were too naive. Of course chelsea were going to keep it tight and defend well. The barca players probably started to believe the hype and thought that they could stroll through Chelsea like they've done everyone else.

What did you expect?chelsea to attack?no fools.chelsea went at Nou knowing that the best game they could play was not going to be on attacking but on defending,which they did with great strengh and agility.what now.when you cannot score becoz of good defending u blame it on the players?barca hav to knw that football also incorporates muscles.dont expect soft games all the tym.and 4 those who say we did nt open up any chances,go and view the match again.let us wait 4 the away league and see.football is played by two teams you cowards so if chelsea played crap then barca played pure shit.what was Eto'o frowning 4 anyway.Chelsea was not at its best but wait til second league at STAMFORD BRIDGE.

What?barca played well but so did chelsea.

fighting spirit? i thought i saw lampard shaking his head.. i think he really is disappointed w/ the way chelsea play.

Fighting spirit? Really? This is like someone rolling up into the fetal position during a fight.

If that's a fighting spirit I don't know what a coward is anymore.

I got Hectored :)

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web...
Marquez is out for the season

DAMN!!! SEASON OVER FOR MARQUEZ

Well as i knew the English Press is having a field day with this resulting crediting Chelsae fighting spirit and Guss Hidink Brilliance over Pep.,

Well bearing in mind the return leg of this game, a draw with Real Madrid isn't that bad......That should help us keep a 4points ahead of them and rest some key players for Chelsea....Xavi really needs a rest so does Alves his crosses today were well below par.

We should run out this lineup again EE.
--Valdes--
--Puyol--Pique--Caceres--Sylvinho/Abidal-- or Abidal as CB.
--Xavi--Keita--Guddy--
--Messi--Eto'o--Iniesta--

Eto'o hasn't really been himself lately.He isn't even creating that much space like he used to.Maybe he just needs a rest or something.

I believe this lineup can hold out for a draw and save energy for Chelsea.

i was worried when the match started, but i can accept 0-0, becuz chelsea wasnt really playing football..they didnt even bother to attack.
we will get our chances at stamford bridge, im sure.

a 1-1, 2-2 draw will be good enough.
remember the goalfest chelsea against pool 4-4.
they will be punished when they play openly against us in the 2nd leg.

Chelsea defended in the most defensively minded formation possible, with the most defensively strong players in the world (Ballack, Essien, Mikel, Lampard), they had no pressure from their fans and YET Barca still created FOUR clear cut chances?? And you say that we have no chance...

This is the way I see it. Chelsea didn't score. That was the good thing about tonight. In London if Barca score just ONE goal in ninety minutes, Chelsea have to score two. Barca will get chances at the Bridge I am sure and I am 100% certain Barca will go through now. a 0-0 is better then a 2-1 imo. CHELSEA NOT SCORING WILL SEND US THROUGH!!

On the game itself I am getting pissed with Eto. People will not critisize him for the season he has had but still. The guy has the awareness of a donkey sometimes. He did great to get through one on one, he had Henry free the other side of the goal to tap it in but he doesnt ever fuking look up. LOOK THE OTHER SIDE FOR FUK SAKE!! He done it last year against Man United in the semi-finals in the Nou Camp and done it again tonight. Im not being saying Eto is crap. He is excellent. But again on the big stage he fluffed his line when Messi was very quiet we needed him.

The ref is a twat. Henry got fouled end of by Boswinga. Bojan missed from 2 yards but what can we do he is young and Hleb wasnt bought for his finishing.

I really, really hate Chelsea. Such a shame the lads didnt win one for the game of football against such a discrace of a team. But Barca WILL go through. Have faith!!

Man that was awful. Why are the english teams so cowardly? Grow some balls and play some football. I can understand trying to be careful and defensive minded but tonight was just a joke. Its a shame that football is moving more and more in this direction.

Its completely open now. Anything can happen next week but no Marquez or Puyol is really gona hurt us. Although to be fair the only time they troubled us tonight is when we were faffing about on the ball and got caught. Did they have a single chance that resulted from a good play by them? Cant remember one. They cannot possibly try and play like this at home can they? They must try and attack us at least a little.

Anyways to be honest I would be more than happy winning the league and the cup. There is plenty of time for this team to win the CL, believe me, we are just starting our fantastic journey. What we cannot afford to do is lose to MAdrid on Saturday and I think the players knew that tonight. It just didnt seem like they were all there. Messi had a particularly disappointing night, Iniesta was class though. We needed a bit of luck tonite, we didnt get it. Thats football.

Fucking English teams, they are pathetic and disgraceful

the most frustrating thing about this is that the same thing happened to us last year! havent we learned?arent we suppose to be better? isnt this why we bought alves and keita? we played with no width and tried and tried and tried everything through the middle. and why so few distance shots? we regressed big time in this game. this is why pep wanted a hitman.

My first reaction was that, yeah, the game was lame, but its okay because as soon as Chelsea come out to play out home we will score. But I also realized, if they score first, like United last year, they will shut down and it may just be game over...

Sylvinho is a good LB, gives away plenty of throw-ins but he is solid overall. The problem is that he wont join in the attack much, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?

And yeah IF Chelsea decides to play in London, the game will be easier. But here's the thing. They have the option of going for penalties at 0-0, and I wouldn't put that past them after seeing today's game.

Congratulations*

Congradulations to Chelsea for not losing the match but they cannot win the tie playing like that. When they attempt to win the match in the second leg I expect that we can pick them off with more space.
Ashley Cole will certainly play at left back and don't be surprised to see Anelka and Malouda at either side of Drogba, meaning less support for the full backs.

When we score in the second leg they will have to come out.
I am concerned about Puyol's suspension, coupled with Marquez's injury that leaves two options:
Alves - Pique - Caceres - Abidal
or
Alves - Pique - Abidal - Sylvinho

I expect to see Keita come into the middle of the park with Iniesta moving to left wing and Henry moving into the middle, Eto'o on the bench

What a frustrating match, I think we have the slight edge going to Chelsea, but still, it would have been nice to put a few away. On the flipside we should be thanking the gods in heaven for Drogba not finishing that chance in th first half. Oh well, lets beat the shit out of EE, then roll past Chelsea, it can be done.

Good point peyman, I forgot that Abidal can play CB.

Might be a great option because he is good on the counter attack.

The question is.. Did we just blow it?

shit
chelsea play with 9 player in their box,shame on them,more poor than numancia...
however we have 3 or 4 clear chances that we should have score..how the hell eto,bojan and hleb didnt score...
so we dont have neither (fraigle injury prone) marquez nor puyi for away game,maybe we must use abidal in center and syl on left
regarding the game... i think we play a very good game,valdes,pique,abidal,alvez,yaya(motm),xavi,iniesta and henry all play great,but messi was invisible
the ref was awful,an idiot,should given us a penalty on henry,an some more yellow cards to chelsea players

i think Eto should have been replaced at min. 60 or so. Though not as good as a win. but 0-0 is the best draw we can have :D. The game in London will be more open so this might help us.

Don't fret you guys. A 0-0 result means a tie in London takes us to penalties or wins us the game, and Chelsea will PROBABLY be a bit more open.

That is unless they want.. another.. 0-0 result with.... penalties.

Oh god. Don't go for penalties. Please.

Ok well not the result we were looking for but at least it was a clean sheet.At least this game cannot be decided by penalties and we all know we will score on Chelsea at home when they have to attack in front of their home crowd.But this game is a game of a lot of miss chances.Eto'o,Henry,Hleb and Bojan....Messi was quite subdued....but still had an off one.So our defense will be Alves-Pique-Caceres-Abidal or Alves-Pique-Abidal-Sylvinho for the return leg but i think we have a case in appealing Puyol's yellow.

I will hate to be Pep right now....He will have a tough time in picking his lineup for Real Madrid and this return leg..I have no clue or predictions who he might choose.All i know Caceres and Hleb will have to step up in either game.

Lots of players were disappointing today. Eto'o with that golden chance, could have PASSED the ball.

Helb. Nuff said there. Good chance, good screw up.

Bojan a bit too short. Missed an excellent opportunity. Wide open against Cech. Heads it over the goal.

It's sad when Alves' free kick is one of the better "finishes" of the day.

where was our 'best player in the world' where was our prolific striker? iniesta is the only one who deserves credit for any decent attacking play...gee im filthy...chelsea!!! was that even football?

I really can't believe Eto'o missed that!!!!!

thoughts on our chances guys? No puyol and it doesnt look like marquez will be fit to play, maybe even for the rest of the season. plz dont tell me we have to play caceras.

Hleb fucking sucks.

Platini should be pissed at the EPL again.. but only because they made watching the Champions League so damn dreadful.

What a borefest by Cheslea. They need some testicular fortitude.

damn im pissed off

Remember that ESPN has been making moves to get some Premiership rights for years, so they have been drumming it up as the best league for a while now. Notice how they have two sections: England and "Europe". Bah, hehe.

Does anyone else have the Soccernet gamecast open for a laugh? It's amazing, they are openly cheering on Chelsea and mocking every time a Barca player gets fouled. They might as well change the name of the site to Premiershipnet.

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From Chelsea's site

Chelsea will line-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as follows:

1 Petr Cech
2 Branislav Ivanovic
33 Alex
26 John Terry (c)
17 José Bosingwa
12 John Mikel Obi
13 Michael Ballack
5 Michael Essien
8 Frank Lampard
15 Florent Malouda
11 Didier Drogba

chelsea going with an ambitious 4-5-1....or is it 4-3-2-1

Petr Cech (G)
John Terry (CD-L)
Alex (CD-R)
José Bosingwa (LB)
Branislav Ivanovic (RB)
John Mikel Obi (LM)
Michael Ballack (RM)
Frank Lampard (RCF)
Florent Malouda (AM-L)
Michael Essien (AM-R)
Didier Drogba (ST)

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well if both dani alves and puyol get booked , they both would miss the second leg and we'd have no one to play right back. or atleast that must be what pep told puyol (leaving out that it was because he was sucking a little recently)

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confirmed: valdes, alves, pique, marquez, abidal, the yaya, xavi, iniesta, henry, eto, messi.

No puyol, guardiola has balls

spot on with the lineup Kxevin. according to FCB website:

Valdes, Alves, Marquez, Pique, Abidal, Yaya, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Henry, Eto'o

Lineups are in: See Kxevin's post for Barca's, well done!