barcelona 2-2

Independent:

Torres sets seal on the miracle of Barcelona
Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2 (Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate)
SAM WALLACE


On the occasion of the great Nou Camp siege of 24 April, 2012, the ten men of Chelsea held the fort and through the drama, the desperation and their sheer bloody determination they saved the best moment until last.
That was undoubtedly when Fernando Torres, the browbeaten, weight-of-the-world-on-his-shoulders, pnds50m man ran free on the Barcelona goal, tricked his way past Victor Valdes and slotted in the goal that secured Chelsea’s passage to the Champions League final. It had been a magnificently gritty performance but Torres’ finale gave it that flourish of style it deserved.
It was a historic night for the club but the price of victory was steep. John Terry’s red card seven minutes from half-time for a knee in the back of Alexis Sanchez’s leg, means he is suspended for the final. So too Raul Meireles, the first goalscorer Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic – all of whom got a second booking last night. Ivanovic had the bad news broken to him live on Sky Sports and looked as if he might need a moment to compose himself.
Yes, a place in the final came at a cost. But what a night. From two goals down and having lost both their centre-backs – Gary Cahill to injury, Terry to stupidity – Chelsea formed up into two defensive lines of white and held their nerve wonderfully. Their first goal chipped in by Ramires was a beauty and it set Barcelona a task to which even they were simply not equal.
If there was a moment that encapsulated Barcelona’s bad night then it was the penalty miss by Lionel Messi three minutes after half-time. Yes, you read that right. The man with 63 goals this season, the original penalty area assassin, did not even force a save from Petr Cech. His shot clipped the bar. But Barca did not have a two bad night by accident. They had them because in both legs Chelsea refused to let them play the way they wanted.
The scale of the rebuilding job is huge. Cahill’s hamstring pull looked bad and David Luiz is currently injured too which means that along with the suspended Terry and Ivanovic there is a chance that all four centre-backs will not be able to play in the final in Munich on 19 May. Whether it is Real Madrid or Bayern Munich who come through tonight’s semi-final, that final will be a monumental task for Chelsea.
Such a pity that Roman Abramovich was not at the game last night, as Roberto Di Matteo revealed in the aftermath of the match. Abarmovich has lavished the best part of pnds1bn on this club and last night was evidence that whatever the politics in this squad or the personal agendas, there is a soul to this team. “Something in the DNA of the players,” was Di Matteo’s explanation for their competitiveness.
For Terry it was a bad night. He has done some foolish things in his career but this one, an act of impetuosity that was always likely to land him in trouble, was out of character for a player who, at the very least, is usually too cute for such silliness. It should not be forgotten that he has been so crucial for Chelsea when he has been fit, especially in the worst times since the turn of the year, and he was exceptional in the semi-final first leg.
Terry, as much as any Chelsea player, should have been able to celebrate this revenge on Barca for the semi-final elimination of three years ago. As for another man who has bad memories of that night, Didier Drogba was superb. He chased Barca down all over the pitch and played at full-back on both flanks in the second half before finally he was replaced by Torres.
Drogba epitomised the devil in Chelsea that haunts Barcelona. In the 16th minute he came charging towards Victor Valdes like a bull across a field. The goalkeeper collided with the Chelsea man, but more damaging for Barca was Gerard Pique crashing into Valdes. Pique looked concussed and lasted another ten minutes before he had to be replaced and taken to hospital.
By then Cech had made his first excellent save from Messi with his legs on 20 minutes. The ball rebounded to Andres Iniesta, whose shot was blocked by the leg of Terry. With Jose Bosingwa on the pitch at right-back in place of Cahill and Ivanovic moved over to centre-half, Barcelona scored on 35 minutes. Alexis Sanchez slipped Isaac Cuenca down the left wing and his cross was met by Sergio Busquets in the centre.
Three minutes later came Terry’s red card. “What happened?” you could see Frank Lampard ask as Terry passed him the armband. What happened? Terry might never be able to answer that. At least he has the sense to apologise afterwards.
With a minute left of the half Sanchez found Messi who had the time and space to play in Iniesta who scored the second. Drogba was so angry he took the ball from the kick-off and lashed a hopeless shot at Valdes’ goal. Two goals down and ten men on the pitch. It looked grim for Chelsea.
It was Ramires’ goal that turned the game just before half-time. The ball came from Lampard, who was excellent throughout, and a Barcelona defence that no longer thought it had to defend allowed the Brazilian to run through them. His finish was perfect. He had been booked two minutes earlier and already knew he would miss the final.
It was Drogba’s trip on Cesc Fabregas for Messi’s penalty. When Messi missed, the ten men of Chelsea were re-organised again. Di Matteo brought Salomon Kalou on in the place of Juan Mata. Meireles and John Obi Mikel ran themselves into the ground. Bosingwa popped up at centre-half. Ashley Cole tucked in. Hatches were battened down. Holes were plugged. At one point Drogba ran forward alone and shot from just over the halfway line
Chelsea dug in. Messi hit the post again and then came the final astonishing moment when Torres had a free run at Valdes as Barcelona pushed for the goal that would win the tie. It was the Torres of 2008 who went past Valdes for the winner: confident and focussed. Just like Chelsea. They need one more great Champions League performance, albeit with half a team, to win the trophy. You just would not bet against them.

Man of the match Cole.
Match rating 8/10.
Referee C Cakir (Tur).
Attendance 95,845.


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Guardian:


Torres stuns Barcelona and books Chelsea into Champions League final
Daniel Taylor at Camp Nou

There are many emotions inspired by Chelsea's arrival in the final but, more than anything, it is sheer wonder. They refused to be cowed after John Terry's red card and deserve their place in Munich on 19 May because of the heroism that went into a night of rare achievement and glory. As triumphs in adversity go, the night they went down to 10 men and knocked out Barcelona on their own ground will take some beating.
Terry will not be in the team to play either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the final because of the knee he callously delivered into the back of Alexis Sánchez's legs after 36 minutes. Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires, who all received yellow cards, will also be suspended but that told only part of the story on a night when Chelsea looked for all the world like they had blown it during that eight-minute spell towards the end of the first half when Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta scored either side of Terry's final, senseless act.
To recover against the most devastating attacking team on the planet, a side that have now accumulated a staggering 104 goals at the Camp Nou this season, was nothing short of extraordinary and, for Roberto Di Matteo, these are the moments when it is increasingly difficult to comprehend how he cannot be closing in on the manager's job on a permanent basis.
His was a victory sprint down the touchline that revived memories of José Mourinho's famous celebration, with Porto, at Old Trafford in 2004. Now Di Matteo may get the chance to pit himself against the former Chelsea manager courtesy of Ramires's brilliant finish just before half-time and, in the final seconds, the finest moment of Fernando Torres's time with the club, running clear to round Victor Valdés and roll the ball into an exposed goal.
Chelsea have to be commended for their spirit of togetherness. They had survived a fearsome onslaught. They tackled and they harried, they ran and they chased and when the pressure was close to intolerable they simply refused to buckle. There were moments of substantial fortune, most notably when Lionel Messi thumped a penalty against the crossbar. The same player also struck the upright and Barcelona will reflect, once again, on a plethora of missed chances. Over the two legs, they must be bewildered that it has been so complicated and, ultimately, harrowing.
Yet they came up against an inspired goalkeeper in Petr Cech and a team whose ethos was epitomised by Didier Drogba appearing in both full-back positions. Torres also slotted into defence after replacing the Ivorian on 81 minutes. Then consider that Chelsea, already without the injured David Luiz, also lost Gary Cahill throughout the opening stages with a hamstring problem.
Their supporters, on the highest rows of this vertiginous stadium, could never have imagined the team would have to play the majority of this match with a midfielder, Ramires, at right-back and two full-backs, Ivanovic and José Bosingwa, in the centre‑half positions. The Camp Nou is no place for a team with these kind of disadvantages, faced by a team that have made an art-form of picking off opponents who sit on the edge of their own penalty area.
Terry had badly let down his team-mates, felling Sánchez with no provocation, and it was difficult to sympathise regardless of the traumas he must now endure. Two minutes earlier, Isaac Cuenca had turned the ball across the penalty area for Busquets to open the scoring.
Barcelona were threatening to overwhelm their opponents and it was a complete dereliction of duty from such an experienced captain. The apology Terry later issued would have carried greater substance had he not already claimed it was an accident.
It was difficult not to fear for Chelsea at that point and even more so, seven minutes later, when another burst of short, incisive passing saw Sánchez and Messi combine to put Iniesta through to make it 2-0. Barcelona were suddenly in utter control and then, almost out of nowhere, Frank Lampard's pass had released Ramires and he was bearing down on goal. The Brazilian's finish was audacious and wonderfully executed, chipping his shot over Valdés.
Even then, the temptation was to favour Barcelona. Guardiola had started the match with three defenders and Busquets as the only classic holding midfielder. The other six players were all, in essence, attackers.
The movement, anticipation and speed was a blur and Chelsea would surely have been defeated if Messi, two minutes into the second half, had made the most of Drogba's trip on Cesc Fábregas inside the penalty area.
Messi has now failed to score in any of his eight games against Chelsea.
Barcelona have not beaten them in their last seven attempts. It was a desperate backs-to-the-wall operation and, for long spells, Barcelona's superiority was so marked the 10 men were just grateful for the breaks in play when they could catch their breath. But they survived and, in the process, reminded us why the Camp Nou was the place where "football, bloody hell" was formed.


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Telegraph:

Chelsea stun European champions Barcelona in Nou Camp to reach Champions League final

By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent Nou Camp

What a night. What a display of defiance from Chelsea after the dismissal of John Terry for kneeing Alexis Sánchez. To the delight of their fans up in the Gods, 10 men went to mow a meadow, and thrillingly, amazingly, they cut mighty Barcelona, the European champions, the team of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta down to size.
This really was a night for a Chelsea knees-up.
Terry’s expulsion after 37 minutes for a cynical attempt to incapacitate Barcelona’s Chilean striker should have signalled the end for Chelsea’s hopes. They were already trailing to Sergio Busquets strike.
They were already manning the barricades and now their captain was gone. In the 2008 Moscow final, Terry lost his footing; here he lost his marbles. He let his team down.

Gary Cahill had already limped off. To lose one centre half could be considered a misfortune, to lose two smacked of carelessness. Depleted in numbers, Chelsea were never down in spirit.
Even when Iniesta made it 2-0, Chelsea responded.
Ramires was immense, defending and attacking relentlessly, even scoring to make it 2-1 on the cusp of half-time, changing the mood, giving Chelsea hope, even making light of a booking that precludes his presence in the Munich final on May 19.
The Brazilian’s contribution echoed that of Roy Keane in Turin in 1999 or Michael Ballack in Seoul in 2002; putting personal heartache to one side to help drive their team to the final.
Matching Ramires’s excellence was Petr Cech, who made some vital saves. Didier Drogba was also terrific, working selflessly for the cause. Fernando Torres, so derided by so many, came on and scored in the last minute.
Let’s kill the anti-football jibes. Faced with technically superior opponents, Chelsea had to defend deep, particularly after Terry’s red, often leaving Drogba a distant figure, almost in Andorra.
Let’s celebrate a triumph of willpower, of a sheer gutsy determination to resist the Catalan waves that flowed towards them. Yes, there was some time-wasting. Cech approached goal-kicks with all the deliberation and gravitas of someone about to address the Oxford Union.
This magnificent Catalan cauldron threatened to boil over at times, the fans railing against occasional go-slow tactics which brought Cech a caution.
But Barcelona also had themselves to blame; they over-elaborated too often, passing rather than shooting, allowing Chelsea to fill any breaches in their defensive wall.
It may seem heresy but Barcelona, disciples of the Beautiful Game, lacked a Plan B. With the holders out, not since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 has a side retained the European Cup.
As well as Chelsea’s admirable resolve, let’s also celebrate Roberto Di Matteo. Dismissed by West Brom, he has now steered a team into aChampions League final.
He could be walking out alongside Chelsea’s greatest ever manager, Jose Mourinho, if the Special One plots Bayern Munich’s demise on Wednesday night.
If Di Matteo’s side prevail in Munich, Chelsea qualify automatically for next season’s competition as holders, so sending the Premier League’s fourth-placed side into the Europa League.
Di Matteo has brought calm to the dressing-room, an easily assimilated tactical game-plan and defended his players. His credentials for the full-time post are strengthened by the game.
If the desire in the Chelsea corridors of power is for a bigger name, well just give Di Matteo a while longer. His profile grows and grows.
Even if Roman Abramovich looks elsewhere, and sadly the Russian was absent on Tuesday night, Di Matteo will always have Barcelona.
Oh, and Lisbon and possibly Munich. Heaven knows who he will pick for the showdown: also joining Terry and Ramires in the banned stand are Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles.
Whatever happens to Di Matteo, he will always have the memory of outwitting Pep Guardiola, of Lionel Messi failing to score, of his players rallying to the cause against one of the most feted sides in history and of the blue flag flying over Camp Nou.
He can also take pride in the way he reorganised his side, giving strength in adversity. Cahill’s injury brought Jose Bosingwa on at right back with Ivanovic moving to partner Terry.
Another centre half departed, Gerard Pique sustaining concussion in a clash with keeper Victor Valdes.
The pressure on Chelsea intensified. Frank Lampard was booked. Messi had a shot saved. Iniesta’s follow-up was blocked by Terry. Then Fabregas hit the side-netting. Danger rose from every quarter. Even Javier Mascherano let fly, narrowly over.
Then came 10 mad minutes as the half closed, Barcelona first digging up a jewel from the wreckage of a corner. Dani Alves slipped the ball left to Isaac Cuenca, who crossed low and accurately to Busquets.
The finish was neat, left-footed from 10 yards and the Nou Camp erupted.
A goal down on the night, Chelsea were soon a man down. As Terry kneed Sanchez in the back, as the Chilean fell to earth, the assistant referee signalled the offence to Cuneyt Cakir, the excellent Turkish referee who reached for the red card.
As Terry made the walk of woe, Chelsea’s remodelled back-four was Ramires-Ivanovic-Bosingwa-Cole and it was soon breached. Messi was the catalyst, gliding forward, sliding the ball to Iniesta, who finished unerringly. This looked Mission Impossible.
Yet Chelsea stood firm, breaking out and scoring a fine goal just before the break. Lampard made it, releasing Ramires, who galloped down the inside-right channel, showing all that famous stamina and then finishing like the Brazilian he is, the ball chipped elegantly over Valdes.
After the break, Barcelona could not have set up camp more in Chelsea’s half if they had pitched a row of tents across the 18-yard line.
Within three minutes of the restart, they should have regained the initiative. Drogba challenged Fabregas, who went down, looking up to the referee for a penalty.
Cakir obliged, pointing to the spot and Messi stepped up. Surely he would inflict pain on the visitors. To the disbelief of all, the Argentine drove the ball against the bar.
Frustration seeped into Barcelona’s veins. Messi pushed Lampard and then pulled him back.
Chelsea fans began taunting locals with chants of “Jose Mourinho”. Cech continued his masterclass of goalkeeping, tipping a Messi shot on to the post and pushing away a Mascherano strike.
And then Torres ran free, rounding Valdes and scoring.
What a night.


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Mail:

Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2 (agg 2-3): Salute the incredibles! Terry off, 2-0 down but brave Blues hit back to reach final
By MATT LAWTON

Amid the chaos created by a captain’s insane indiscipline, Chelsea’s Incredibles emerged on Tuesday night.
This was a group of players who somehow survived for 54 minutes in the absence of the dismissed John Terry and secured their passage to the Champions League final; a team who stopped a Barcelona side that had already scored 102 goals at home this season before this semi-final began.
In doing so, they joined the ranks of the European greats.
It was not just the loss of Terry that presented them with a problem. It was not just that, with only 10 men, they were facing the finest team the world has ever seen. It was the fact they triumphed  without a single centre half on the pitch, having already lost Gary Cahill to injury.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo was whistling when he walked through the media zone shortly after the final whistle, cool as you like.
But an Italian — who might just lose the ‘interim’ part of his job title before long — had masterminded an astonishing victory.
It was a performance that might have superseded Manchester United’s display on this same Nou Camp pitch in 1999, when they beat Bayern Munich in the final. It  might even have been the most extraordinary contest witnessed in this competition.
By the end Di Matteo had organised his side in a 6-3 formation, with Salomon Kalou doubling up alongside Ramires at right back and Fernando Torres sitting outside Ashley Cole at left back. Want to know how to cope with Barcelona’s big pitch? Just play four full backs.
That Ramires and Torres also scored Chelsea’s goals made it all the more memorable and that bit more special. The first came from the Brazilian just before the interval when it seemed Barcelona were on the road to Bavaria, while Torres added the coup de grace in second-half stoppage time.
Together with Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles, Ramires will miss the final because of the booking he received here last night. But that did not stop him sprinting the full length of the  field, from his new position in the makeshift back-four, to run on to a pass from Frank Lampard before sending a quite brilliant chip over the advancing Victor Valdes and into the net.
It was amazing. It was Roy Keane — who missed that 1999 final — in a Chelsea shirt. It was enough to make grown men cry.
When Chelsea fans who were here share their recollections of the night, they will reflect on that moment in the  context of the 10 or so  dramatic minutes that came before. 
Chelsea had done well to limit Barcelona to one decent chance in the opening half an hour, with Petr Cech denying Lionel Messi after the best player on the planet had executed a marvellous one-two with Cesc Fabregas.
But it was looking ominous for the visitors the moment they lost Cahill to injury after only 12 minutes, forcing  Di Matteo to deploy Jose Bosingwa on the flank and move Ivanovic to centre half.
In those 10 first-half minutes, though, Chelsea appeared to  collapse and capitulate.
It started when Sergio Busquets met a neat cross from Isaac Cuenca to score, continued two minutes later when Terry mindlessly drove his knee into the leg of Alexis Sanchez and concluded with Andres Iniesta dropping off the right shoulder of Ramires — now at right back thanks to the need to switch Bosingwa to centre-half — to collect a wonderful pass from Messi before slipping his shot beyond the reach of Cech.
Surely it was game over. Surely Barcelona would succeed only in building on their lead and leave Terry to reflect on yet more Champions League misery — a penalty for his madness to add to the  penalty he missed in Moscow.
But then came the comeback of comebacks — a defiant fight for survival that will strike fear into whichever side they meet in Munich on May 19.
The goal from Ramires nearly counted for nothing when, two minutes after the break, Fabregas appeared to dive after a challenge from Didier Drogba in the penalty area and Messi was invited by referee Cuneyt Cakir to score from the spot. But Messi had never scored in seven previous meetings with Chelsea and that record was extended to eight when his effort crashed off Cech’s bar and bounced to safety.
Even then, it only seemed a  matter of time before the Catalans would score again.
Sanchez had one goal ruled out for offside, while Messi was denied by the brilliance of Cech when the Chelsea goalkeeper diverted another shot against a post.
That Di Matteo’s makeshift side survived a further 43 minutes after Messi’s penalty miss was remarkable, but it was the product of  serious hard graft and intense concentration — defending at its finest.
In front of the defensive line stood three midfielders in Frank Lampard, Meireles and John Mikel Obi who battled every bit as courageously, demonstrating exactly why this Barcelona team do not like playing against them.
That Chelsea scored a second goal was irrelevant in the end, even if it did add to the joy for the visitors and the despair for the hosts.


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Mirror:

Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (agg 2-3): Knees-up as Torres puts Blues in final
By Martin Lipton

It could not happen. Simply could not happen.
Not against Barcelona in the Nou Camp. Not playing for nearly an hour with 10 men against the greatest team on the planet.
But somehow, on a night that transcended belief, turned everything we are supposed to know on its head, it did.
We all believed we'd do it even after JT and Cahill went off - Cole
From utter despair, facing death by a thousand cuts at the hands of Lionel Messi and Co, captain John Terry in the doghouse, hope virtually extinguished, Roberto Di Matteo's Chelsea found their finest, most remarkable result.
Quite how remains a mystery this morning, will have left the Chelsea fans who remained perched in the uppermost tier of the Catalan cathedral long after every other seat had emptied still shaking their heads in joyous disbelief.
When you go two down to Barcelona, you lose.
When you go two down and a man down, when your defensive kingpin experiences a moment of madness to haunt him, you lose big-time.
When you are penned back on the edge of your own box, with your back line almost entirely reshaped by injury and indiscipline, you get mauled, pulverised, battered black and blue.
Yet Chelsea ignored what all the normal principles of football ordered.
Just as they started to when Andre Villas-Boas was ditched in favour of Di Matteo two months ago, when they seemed all but eliminated after 90 minutes in Naples.
Where they should have folded, fallen apart, accepted the inevitable, something astonishing was born, a night that will live in Chelsea legend. much make Roman Abramovich consider Di Matteo for the job for real.
This was the footballing equivalent of Rorke's Drift, Di Matteo's men first refusing to roll over in the face of overwhelming odds, then, almost inconceivably, dethroning the Kings of Europe on their own sacred turf.
Incredibly, even after this night of nights, it will only get harder for them to make history in Munich next month, whether against Bayern or, of course, Jose Mourinho, the man whose fingerprints remains all over this Chelsea side.
Along with Terry's red card, the bookings picked up by Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires mean all four will be absent from the side on May 19.
How this tale transpired defied belief, too, as Terry, incredibly, went from being the story of the evening to a remarkable sub-plot, Messi emerged as the unlikely villain of the piece.
Soon after Sergio Busquets stroked home Isaac Cuenca's cross to level the tie, Terry gave Alexis Sanchez a sly, needless knee up the rear end, behind the back of Turkish referee Cuynet Cakir but spotted by his eagle-eyed assistant.
Chelsea were already rocking at this point, having lost hamstring victim Gary Cahill inside 12 minutes and Terry looked in stunned horror at Cakir, as if suddenly realising the enormity of his crime.
His folly was almost instantly punished as Chelsea's re-jigged back division - Ivanovic had already moved inside and now he was joined by Cahill's replacement Jose Bosingwa - was over-run, Messi setting up Andres Iniesta.h
Yet the inevitable - only Petr Cech's reflexes to foil Messi, bad finishing and goalline clearances from Ivanvic and Asley Cole had kept the Blues on terms for that long - did not come to pass.
In first half stoppage time Ramires, galloped forward from his emergency duties at right-back, running at full-pelt yet finding the calmness and precision to dink a sand-wedge over the head of Victor Valdes.
And then, right at the death, after Messi had slammed a penalty against the bar when Didier Drogba downed Cesc Fabregas and smashed another shot against the post, after Alexis Sanchez' strike was rightly ruled out for offside, after Cech had pulled off save after save, the ultimate moment.
When Abramovich paid £50million to secure the services of Fernando Torres, it was to score the big goals in the big games, to beat the likes of Barcelona.
The Spaniard has been surplus to requirements under Di Matteo, was again omitted in favour of one-man battering ram Didier Drogba last night.
He only had a handful of minutes, after Drogba, running the risk of getting another red card, was finally given a breather and there were just seconds left when Barca's last advance was hacked away.
Suddenly, Torres had the Barcalona half to himself, only Valdes in front of him, time standing still as he rounded the keeper before slotting home. It feels like destiny.


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Sun:


Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2
Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate

By SHAUN CUSTIS

Chelsea are in the Champions League final after one of the most astonishing games an English club side has ever been involved in.
Liverpool’s comeback in Istanbul against AC Milan to lift the trophy seven years ago, and Manchester United’s last-minute turnaround against Bayern Munich on this ground in the 1999 final were special — but this runs them close.
Few believed Chelsea could do it, even fewer when skipper John Terry was sent off and they had to play for nearly two thirds of the game with 10 men.
But from Petr Cech, who was outstanding in goal, through to Didier Drogba fighting a lone battle up front, they emerged triumphant.
The blue angel which former boss Ruud Gullit says sits on the Chelsea crossbar did its job, too.
The great Lionel Messi hit the bar with a penalty and Cech touched a shot from the same player on to a post.
This was the seventh time Barca had failed to beat the Blues and Messi, scorer of 63 goals this season, still has not got one against them in eight attempts.
Chelsea, one up from the first leg, were 2-1 down on aggregate after 43 minutes — but they would not be beaten.
Ramires got one back before the break. And, to complete an event where we truly had to blink twice to make sure we were not seeing things, £50million sub Fernando Torres — the object of such ridicule since his arrival — broke away and rounded Victor Valdes to finish Barca off in added time.
The downside is that Chelsea go into the final in Munich against either Bayern or Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid on May 19 with four key men missing.
Terry is out because of his dismissal for foolishly kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the back, while Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires, and Raul Meireles will be absent too, having been booked.
But that is a worry for another day because this was an evening for celebration. And how the Chelsea fans partied.
And what payback for that semi-final defeat in 2009, when they were denied four penalties and were undone by a last-gasp Andres Iniesta strike.
In this strangest of seasons, Roberto Di Matteo has transformed Blues’ fortunes since replacing the sacked Andre Villas-Boas. He must get the job full-time now.
And who would bet against Chelsea finishing the job off and winning the big one for the first time. They could even make it a double with the FA Cup.
There is a belief about this team which is unbreakable. Even with that lead from the first game at Stamford Bridge, the odds were against Chelsea here.
And the task got even harder when Gary Cahill was injured after only 12 minutes and had to be replaced by Jose Bosingwa.
Barca lost their own central defender Gerard Pique, who was taken to hospital after colliding with his own keeper Valdes.
He was replaced by Dani Alves but it did not unsettle the home side, who looked composed and ready to put Chelsea to the sword.
Cech had already kept out Messi after a one-two with Cesc Fabregas.
When Fabregas hooked just wide a minute later, it seemed it was going to be a very long night.
Barca finally scored on 35 minutes. A corner was cleared only as far as Alves who found Isaac Cuenca and his pull back was turned in by Sergio Busquets.
The Nou Camp went wild. And it went from bad to worse for Chelsea when Terry kneed Sanchez in the back.
Yes, the Chilean went down theatrically but it was idiotic by Terry and hard to argue with the red card.
For Terry, who missed the penalty in Moscow which would have won the Champions League final in 2008, it was another sour entry on his European CV.
Barca scored again when Messi played Iniesta through to sidefoot into the corner.
Frankly, that looked to be the end of that. How could Chelsea come back now?
Yet out of nowhere they scored on the stroke of half-time as Ramires powered on to a gorgeous pass from Lampard and dinked an exquisite chip over the helpless Valdes.
Ramires had been booked moments earlier, so he knew he could be out of the final yet that did not deflect him from the cause.
On 48 minutes, Barca got a penalty when Drogba slid in on Fabregas, who hit the deck.
Up stepped Messi. Surely he was going to score against Chelsea now?
No! His kick cannoned back off the bar.
Drogba tried an outrageous shot from more than 60 yards, which Valdes had to dive to save. But Cech was the far busier keeper.
Xavi had a goal ruled out for offside, another Messi shot was touched on to the post by Cech, who also thwarted Javier Mascherano.
Suddenly the ball broke for sub Torres.
And the Spaniard stayed cool, skipped past Valdes and rolled the ball into an empty net.
Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses — the toast is Chelsea FC.

DREAM TEAM
STAR MAN — RAMIRES (CHELSEA)
CHELSEA: Cech 8, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 5 (Bosingwa 6), Terry 3, Cole 8, Mikel 6, Meireles 7, Mata 6 (Kalou 6), Lampard 8, Ramires 9, Drogba 8 (Torres 7). Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Sturridge. Sent Off: Terry. Booked: Mikel, Ramires, Ivanovic, Cech, Lampard, Meireles.
BARCELONA: Valdes 6, Puyol 6, Pique 5 (Alves 5), Xavi 7, Mascherano 6, Busquets 8, Iniesta 8, Cuenca 6 (Tello 5), Fabregas 6 (Keita 5), Messi 7, Sanchez 8. Subs not used: Pinto, Thiago, Keita, Pedro, Adriano.


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Express:

BARCELONA 2 CHELSEA 2: BLUES PULL OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE JOB
By Tony Banks

THEY WERE not supposed to write stories like this any more.
Against impossible odds, after having their captain sent off and from two goals down, Chelsea reached the Champions Leaguefinal – and Fernando Torres scored the goal that clinched their miracle triumph.
Playing with 10 men for an incredible 53 minutes, Roberto Di Matteo’s heroes somehow defied the might of Barcelona in what must rank as one of the great English European performances.
As John Terry was sent off for recklessly kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the back after 37 minutes, Chelsea fell twogoals behind before a quite brilliant strike from Ramires put them back in front on away goals.
Lionel Messi missed a penalty early in the second half and right at the death the moment came that capped an incredible night in Catalonia.
Substitute Torres galloped on to a ball by Branislav Ivanovic, rounded Barca keeper Victor Valdes as the Nou Camp fell silent and stroked home the goal that confirms his club’s place in the final in Munich on May 19.
It was an astonishing end to 16 months of misery for the £50SHrSmillion Spaniard, who hadscored just eight goals for Chelsea.
But it was also a night of triumph for interim manager Di Matteo. Handed the job just over seven weeks ago after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked, he has somehow united a fractured squad and steered them to an FA Cup final and now a Champions League final.
Once again the ice-cool former Chelsea midfielder masterminded a superb tactical masterclass that totally outfoxed Barcelona.
Last week at Stamford Bridge he frustrated the Catalans. Last night, in the cauldron of the Nou Camp, he did even better.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Chelsea had withstood the expected barrage before Sergio Busquets gave holders Barca the lead. After Terry’s red card, Andres Iniesta hit the second in nine minutes of mayhem that seemed to spell doom for Chelsea.
But then Ramires struck, and the 10 somehow held on. Five times before, Chelsea had reached this semi-final stage in the competition that Roman Abramovich most covets – and only once triumphed.
On that occasion in 2008, further heartache awaited them in the final at the hands of Manchester United.
The pain of being so close so many times and never succeeding is etched into Chelsea’s DNA. But there is a dogged persistence driven into this group of players from the days when Jose Mourinho laid down the foundations.
So last night they were back for what many knew would probably be their final tilt. Apart from Terry’s moment of madness, they did not falter.
The only blot on Di Matteo’s night is that Terry and three more will not play in the final. The captain because of his needless red card, while Ramires, Ivanovic and Raul Meireles will all miss out after picking up bookings.
What sort of side Di Matteo will be able to put out against Real Madrid and Mourinho, or Bayern Munich – who play tonight – heaven knows. But that is for another night.
The Nou Camp was crammed with 96,000 fanatics. The vast concrete bowl boiled over with tension.
Barca had not beaten Chelsea in six attempts over normal time and their coach, Pep Guardiola, went for the throat from the off with only three at the back. And inside four minutes Messi had hit the side-netting.
Chelsea keeper Petr Cech was superb all night. He saved brilliantly with his legs from Messi and Terry blocked Iniesta’s follow-up. The waves of red and blue kept coming though, as Messi again struck the side-netting.
But the thin white line cracked. A corner was only half cleared and Daniel Alves fed Isaac Cuenca. His cross was low and deadly and Busquets scored.
Moments later, disaster. Terry needlessly and with unfathomable stupidity kneed Sanchez in the back on the edge of the area in full view of referee Cuneyt Cakir. The red card was inevitable. The task suddenly seemed impossible.
Proof, it seemed, came just six minutes later, as Messi put Iniesta through for Barca’s second.
But, somehow, it was not over. Frank Lampard found Ramires racing through with a great pass and he brilliantly chipped his shot over Valdes for the away goal Chelsea so desperately needed.
The task was now to hold on for the 45 minutes with 10 men and a makeshift defence.
The defiance almost lasted only three minutes, as Didier Drogba’s lunge felled former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the area. But Messi incredibly blasted his penalty against the bar.
Virtually the entire game was now being played around Chelsea’s penalty area. Cech saved well from Cuenca – and always there was a boot or a head in the way.
Guardiola on the touchline was growing more and more exasperated. The goal would not come, as Cech defied Messi and Javier Mascherano.
Suddenly, in the third minute of stoppage-time, there was Torres racing away, rounding Valdes and it was all over.
The Chelsea bench raced across the field to embrace him. Mission impossible had been accomplished.


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Star:


BARCELONA 2 CHELSEA 2 (AGG 2-3): FERANADO TORRES STRIKE SINKS BATTLING BARCA

By Daily Star Reporter

CHELSEA produced one of the greatest escapes in the history of European football tonight as they survived the sending off of John Terry to win an astonishing Champions League semi-final with Barcelona

On a night of unparalleled drama at the Nou Camp, John Terry looked to have pressed the self-destruct button on the Blues' hopes of glory on the continent when he saw red for kneeing Alexis Sanchez from behind.
But the 10 men were simply magnificent for the rest of the second leg, fighting back from goals from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta with a stunning chip from Ramires before half-time.
And after surviving a Barca siege from start to finish that saw Lionel Messi miss a penalty, Fernando Torres came off the bench to score a stoppage-time breakaway goal as Chelsea avenged their 2009 defeat in the most dramatic manner possible.
Reaching their second final came at a huge cost, with Terry's red card and yellows for Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles ruling them out of the final.
But they will worry about that in the morning after celebrating arguably the greatest result in the club's history and one which may finally convince Roman Abramovich to make Roberto Di Matteo's appointment as manager permanent.
Disaster struck for Chelsea as early as the sixth minute, Gary Cahill eventually forced off after slipping and pulling his hamstring, with Jose Bosingwa coming on and Ivanovic forced to move to centre-back.
It was soon 1-1 on the injury front, Gerard Pique lasting just 26 minutes of his recall after failing to recover from a sickening collision with the backside of Victor Valdes that appeared to leave him briefly unconscious.
That failed to alter the pattern of a game which was a carbon copy of the first leg as Chelsea parked the bus once more.
Messi rippled the side-netting inside three minutes and, after both sides' injury woes, he should have opening the scoring in the 20th minute, firing a one-two with Cesc Fabregas against Petr Cech's leg.
Fabregas also volleyed into the sidenetting and Cech tipped over Javier Mascherano's drive but there was hope for Chelsea before Pique's departure when Didier Drogba shrugged him off but could himself only find the side-netting from the tightest of angles.
The first sign of Chelsea's discipline wavering came when John Obi Mikel was booked for chopping down Alexis Sanchez in the 32nd minute.
And when they went to sleep three minutes later, they were behind, their failure to close down allowing Isaac Cuenca to square for Busquets to tap into a virtually unguarded net.
The build-up to this tie was dominated by talk of refereeing meltdowns in previous clashes but Terry simply gave Cuneyt Cakir no choice but to dismiss him less than two minutes later.
Sanchez over-reacted to the swipe, bringing back memories of David Beckham's 1998 World Cup sending-off, and Terry initially refused to walk.
But Cech made him listen to reason before picking the ball out of his own net again two minutes before half time, Chelsea carved apart as Messi teed up Iniesta to stroke the ball home.
Chelsea looked dead and buried but, as at Stamford Bridge, they struck a dagger blow with their first shot on target in first-half stoppage-time.
Frank Lampard was again the creator as Ramires burst through and floated a glorious finish over Valdes - moments after picking up a booking that would rule him out of the final.
The cascade of noise that had filled the Nou Camp turned to silence at half-time but they were soon cheering again after the restart when Drogba conceded a penalty.
Cakir adjudged the striker had tripped Fabregas and pointed to the spot, with Ivanovic cautioned for his protest.
It looked certain Messi would end his Chelsea hoodoo but, incredibly, he smashed his effort against the crossbar.
Lampard was fortunate to escape punishment for a flare-up with Fabregas, Sanchez nodded substitute Daniel Alves' cross wide, and Cech was booked for timewasting having already been warned before saving well again from Cuenca.
Ivanovic almost capitalised after Drogba helped Chelsea win a rare corner but he was warned himself after going down theatrically, while Lampard was lucky to only see yellow for cutting down Fabregas after Messi was booked for tugging him back.
The visitors were hanging on and were given two lifelines in 60 seconds in the final 10 minutes when Sanchez had a goal ruled out for offside and Messi hit the post from 20 yards.
With time running out, Meireles was ruled out of the final after being booked for fouling Mascherano, who Cech saved from again in the final minute.
And then, in stoppage-time, a long clearance found substitute Torres with 50 yards of space in which to run.
Unlike most of his Chelsea career, he made no mistake, rounding Valdes and slotting home to jubilant scenes.