Independent:
Messi and Co outmuscled by Chelsea's defensive master plan
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 0
Sam Wallace
If parking the bus is a crime, then lock Chelsea up and throw away the
key. Meanwhile, back in the real world, Roberto Di Matteo’s team have
a precious one-goal lead to take to the Nou Camp on Tuesday and
moreover they have beaten the European champions.
Disciplined, hard-working stubborn and, yes, at times a touch lucky,
but any team that is to beat Barcelona will need some good fortune.
Did Chelsea try to play Barça at their own game? Of course not. That
would have been suicidal and while Chelsea can be difficult to love at
times, there was so much about them to admire last night.
Facing Barcelona can be a daunting experience, especially when they
have 73 per cent possession away from home as they did last night, but
this is a Chelsea side that have seen it all. They have lost the
Champions League final on penalties, they have lost a semi-final with
virtually the last kick of the game and so when they stared down the
magnificent ensemble that is Barcelona's attacking force this was one
team that was not about to flinch.
You would expect that of John Terry, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba who
were all, in their own way, excellent last night. Drogba's play-acting
can be infuriating but Barça are never truly comfortable when he is on
the pitch. The next generation also gave a good account of themselves:
Gary Cahill, Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic all looked like they could
live with the best team on the planet.
In an ideal world, you would try to match Barcelona pass for pass and
goal for goal. Chelsea never attempted to do that and by the end of
the game they had been an out-passed an eye-watering 782 to 192. They
stole away on the counter-attack seconds before half-time to score,
the only one of their five attempts on goal that was on target and
they held on grimly for dear life right to the moment when substitute
Pedro's shot clipped Petr Cech's post late on.
Cesc Fabregas captured Chelsea's counter-attacking style best when he
described them as like a group of motorbikes surging forward.
Chelsea's goal was exactly that, a moment of opportunism when Frank
Lampard robbed Lionel Messi in midfield and set Ramires free on the
left. His cross was slightly scuffed by Drogba but his shot was still
good enough to beat Victor Valdes.
That was the Chelsea way: do not stop to admire the ball and size up
your options. Instead get it forward and do so quickly and hope that a
Barça defence that featured Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano at its
centre – and not Gerard Pique – would struggle to contain Drogba.
That Messi's failure to hold onto the ball in midfield should decide
the game was one of those remarkable twists in the tale. He has still
not scored against Chelsea in seven games against them and while he
was captivating at times you would be hard pushed to argue that he was
in the match anything like as much as he would want.
Yesterday was five years to the day that he scored his most famous
solo goal for Barca against Getafe that came to define his brilliance.
He opened up Chelsea on 43 minutes and slipped in Fabregas whose dink
over Cech was scooped out the goalmouth by Cole. Earlier, Messi had
drifted past three players and laid the ball off to Andres Iniesta
whose cut back was badly shanked by Fabregas.
If it was not a good night for Messi then it was worse for Fabregas
who was a marginalised figure for much of the game. This was not a day
when Barcelona were simply allowed to play the way in which they
wished. Afterwards, Pep Guardiola made plenty of allusions to
Chelsea's defensive approach but mercifully stopped short of demanding
they play the way Barcelona would prefer.
While the passing carousel of Barça folklore spun and spun, Chelsea
never became disorientated. Di Matteo's team were officially 4-3-3 but
in reality it was 4-5-1 with even Drogba dropping back at times to
help out the midfield. Alexis Sanchez chipped one against the bar on
10 minutes. Soon after, Cahill almost scored with a sliding tackle
after a throw-in caused unexpected problems in the Barcelona penalty
area.
Above all, Chelsea coped. They never stopped the Barcelona attacks but
by the time Drogba scored at the end of the first half they had
certainly slowed them down. They also had to ride their luck at times.
On 56 minutes Sanchez got the ball back from Fabregas in the right
channel of the area but somehow managed to put his scuffed shot the
wrong side of the post. On 65 minutes, Messi jinked around Raul
Meireles and left John Obi Mikel in a tangle. His shot was blocked.
Cech made a good save from Puyol's header with three minutes of the
game left.
Playing on his own in attack and isolated for long periods of the
game, Drogba worked hard – he also bought a few fouls. At times it was
not edifying to watch, and he did roll around rather too much, but the
sight of Sergio Busquets berating Drogba for play-acting was arguably
the most laughable moment of the night.
On as a substitute, Salomon Kalou volleyed over with six minutes of
the game left. It was not as close as Pedro's shot against the post in
injury-time after a fine tackle by Ivanovic on Messi. The loose ball
was crashed over the bar by Busquets. At the final whistle, the same
player booted the ball away in frustration. It was the first time
Barça had gone long all night. It showed just how far Chelsea had got
under their skin.
Man of the match Drogba.
Match rating 7/10.
Referee F Brych (Ger).
Attendance 38,039.
=================
Guardian:
Chelsea's Didier Drogba makes Lionel Messi and Barcelona pay
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea will take a narrow, yet precious, lead to Camp Nou. They
played with exceptional levels of organisation, togetherness and
structure and they can take great confidence from demonstrating that
this brilliant, often mesmeric Barcelona side can be beaten, even if
their opponents are too refined for Roberto Di Matteo's team to start
thinking of themselves as favourites.
They won courtesy of Didier Drogba's breakaway goal at the end of a
first half in which Barcelona had seemed in utter control. After that
they had to endure another 45 minutes of almost unrelenting pressure.
Pep Guardiola's side pinned them back at times. They hit the crossbar
and saw chances cleared off the goalline. There was some exceptional
goalkeeping from Petr Cech and, in the final moments of stoppage time,
the substitute Pedro rolled a shot against a post.
Barcelona did everything, in fact, but score. Chelsea survived through
strenuous effort, concentration and some good old-fashioned luck and,
by the end, Lionel Messi could be seen screaming to the skies in
frustration.
The jubilation at the final whistle was understandable given this was
only Barcelona's third defeat this season. Yet enough was seen here,
too, to show that they will still confidently expect to turn the tie
upside down in Catalonia next Tuesday. If Chelsea are to complete the
job and secure a date at the Allianz Arena, Munich, on 19 May, it is
going to require an immense performance.
For long spells Barcelona kept the ball and exerted a sense of clear
superiority. Yet they will reflect on their own carelessness, too, on
a rain-soaked night when it was difficult at times to keep count of
the number of chances they created. Cesc Fábregas and Alexis Sánchez,
in particular, spared Chelsea with the generosity of their finishing.
At times Chelsea seemed to be gasping for air, symbolised by the
frequency with which Drogba went to ground, signalling that he was
hurt. It can be a tiresome habit but it did at least disrupt the flow
of the game and, in doing so, disrupt Barça's momentum.
For all their dominance, the sporadic brilliance of Messi et al, it
was not a night when Barcelona touched their most exhilarating
heights.
This was not the masterclass we saw against Manchester United in last
season's final and, for a team whose philosophy is that giving the
ball away is a sin, they will not enjoy recalling the game's decisive
moment.
The guilty man was, of all people, Messi. Frank Lampard dispossessed
him just inside the Chelsea half and immediately looked to send
Ramires running clear on the inside-left channel and, from that
moment, Barcelona were in trouble. Ramires took the ball on his chest,
advanced towards the penalty area and turned the ball into the centre.
Drogba partially scuffed his shot but it was enough to beat Victor
Valdés.
It was virtually the final kick of the first half and, as the players
headed to the tunnel, Messi still shaking his head, it felt almost
like a trick of the imagination that Chelsea were ahead. The first
shudder of apprehension in the home stands arrived after nine minutes
when Andrés Iniesta sent Sánchez running clear and the Chilean lifted
his shot over the oncoming Cech only for it to come back off the
crossbar.
Soon afterwards Messi set off on his first slalom through the Chelsea
defence, beat a couple of men and played the ball into Iniesta's path.
His shot was parried by Cech and Chelsea escaped only because Fábregas
could not get a clean contact on the follow-up. The tone was set for a
night when Barcelona were often playing with a 4-2-4 formation.
Guardiola must feel his team had enough chances in the first 45
minutes alone to have killed the tie.
Chelsea's tactics were far less refined, looking to pick out Drogba,
often playing alone in attack, and then relying on his muscular
presence to hold up the ball. When he was not putting in a performance
that Morgan Freeman would have been proud of, Drogba was a constant
menace to the Barcelona defence. Di Matteo has got most things right
since taking over from André Villas-Boas and the decision to play
Drogba instead of Fernando Torres was spot on.
There were times, all the same, when Barcelona played with suave
brilliance. Yet there were moments, equally, when Chelsea's opponents
did not look as if they were enjoying themselves. Sánchez, once again,
let Chelsea off, turning a 56th-minute shot past the post. Inferior as
Chelsea were, there was some supreme defending at times, most notably
Ashley Cole's goal-line clearance to keep out Fábregas and the
countless blocks and interceptions from John Terry and Gary Cahill.
There was also Cech to save them with the outstanding save of the
match, keeping out Carles Puyol's glancing header with only three
minutes to go.
Even then there was more drama as Pedro hit the post and Sergio
Busquets turned the rebound over the crossbar.
It was a brilliant night for Chelsea, yet one that also demonstrated
what an immense performance they will need in Catalonia next Tuesday.
=================
Telegraph:
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 0: match report
By Henry Winter, at Stamford Bridge
Didier Drogba spent periods of this game prostrate on the floor but
like an ageing, ring-savvy heavyweight, he rose from the canvas to
land a mighty blow on Barcelona. It may not prove a knock-out blow but
Drogba has given Chelsea a fighting chance, especially if they defend
like this again. They travel to Catalonia next week refusing to pay
homage.
To the delight of their highly vocal fans, Chelsea’s defending was
immense. This was not anti-football; few of the game’s dark arts
stained Chelsea’s play, barring Drogba’s occasional theatricality.
There was little shirt-pulling, no filthy challenges, no baulking.
Chelsea just defended well. If this had been AC Milan, Inter Milan or
anybody else from the land of catenaccio, the headlines would have
bubbled with paeans for such defensive virtues.
When Barcelona did break through, inevitably with 79 per cent
possession, they were denied either by the woodwork (twice) or by Petr
Cech, who made some vital saves, particularly from Carles Puyol late
on.
Many stats helped tell the story of this first leg but two stood out:
Chelsea had one effort on target, Drogba’s, while of Lionel Messi’s
seven shots, one was off target, one on target and five were blocked.
Five. Blurs of blue kept throwing themselves in front of Messi’s
dancing feet. Gary Cahill took the magical little Argentine’s presence
in or near Chelsea’s area as a personal affront. Messi could wriggle
out of a straitjacket but not with Cahill in this form. The England
centre-half embodied Chelsea’s discipline, committing only one foul
all night.
Ashley Cole did not make even one foul, a remarkable feat as his duty
was to deal with Dani Alves, an assignment akin to chasing a zephyr.
Cole’s outstanding contribution, reminding the world that he is back
to his nimble, determined best, reflected the simple, but effective
game-plan constructed by Roberto Di Matteo.
In orchestrating his 10th win in his 13 matches as interim first-team
coach, Di Matteo had instructed his side to throw a blue blanket
across midfield, pressing hard and fast, and telling Cole and Ramires
to de-fuse that right-sided missile called Alves.
Barcelona’s No 2 is so often the springboard for his team’s attacks,
so often a dangerous outlet.
Highlighting Barcelona’s strengths is not difficult; negating them is
the hard part and Di Matteo’s players did that brilliantly.
As the plaudits were shared around Chelsea’s players, some quiet
satisfaction should be felt by Di Matteo. When André Villas-Boas was
sacked, Di Matteo was asked to step up and steady the ship.
He has brought peace to the dressing-room, handled the egos adroitly
and guided Chelsea into the FA Cup final and to within 90 minutes of
the Champions League final in Munich.
Di Matteo is no fool, though. He will not get carried away by one
great night. He was in Chelsea’s midfield when they took a 3-1
first-leg lead to the Nou Camp in 2000, facing Pep Guardiola and
eventually losing in extra-time. He knows the dangers that lie ahead.
The Nou Camp is the most elegant ambush scene in Europe. Given the
anticipated backlash, Chelsea will probably need to score. It is
surely mission impossible to subdue Messi for three hours.
But Di Matteo, the architect with willing builders, has given Chelsea
a chance. Whether he has also given himself a chance of convincing
Roman Abramovich that he is permanent managerial material remains to
be seen. That remains unlikely but Di Matteo’s CV will look more
appealing to owners elsewhere after reviving Chelsea’s season.
His tactics of containing the entertainers will not have won universal
approval. But Di Matteo has no Messi, nor Xavi, nor Andrés Iniesta to
call on, no conductors of the orchestra.
This was the team of all the talents, the holders of the Champions
League, a side packed with World Cup winners. Chelsea, commendably,
refused to let fear seep in their hearts. Di Matteo, sensibly, could
not play Barcelona at their game; he had to man the barricades and try
to nick a goal.
They did. Chelsea’s fans would have settled for parity at the break.
In the first-half they had only 25 per cent possession, managed only
130 passes to Barcelona’s 402, were almost punished by Alexis Sánchez
and Cesc Fàbregas, were indebted to Cech and their fans chanted “ole”
on the rare occasions that their players managed to build a move.
Yet they turned around ahead, Drogba striking in the two minutes of
injury time awarded primarily for the amount of time he spent on the
floor.
The Ivorian seemed more horizontal than vertical at times, and it
became frustrating to watch, even if it did help Chelsea break up
Barcelona’s momentum. Yet Drogba took his goal well, totally
vindicating Di Matteo’s decision to start him ahead of Fernando
Torres.
Drogba’s shot was a shock, partly because it was Chelsea’s only one on
target in the first half and also because the force had largely,
inevitably, been with the vaunted visitors. Alexis Sánchez darted
through early on, and lifting the ball over Cech and denied only by
the bar. Cech then thwarted Iniesta, and Fàbregas wasted a golden
opportunity with the follow-up.
Back came Barcelona again, Messi releasing Fabregas, who dinked the
ball over Cech. Cole had read the danger, dropping back on to the line
to clear Fàbregas. Such resilience was rewarded when Chelsea seized
the lead with almost the last kick of the half. Ramires, capping an
outstanding half, raced into the box and squared to Drogba, who beat
Victor Valdés.
Having spent periods of the half on the floor, Drogba celebrated by
sliding across the grass, saluting the fans like a manic
sergeant-major.
The men in black stormed at the blue ramparts in the second half.
Chelsea’s defending was magnificent. Some of Cahill’s tackles drew
standing ovations. As the second-half siege unfolded, Cahill saw off
Messi and Sánchez in quick succession. Then Messi again. Frank Lampard
was dropping back, helping put out the fires fanned by Messi.
Barca kept hunting that away goal. When Messi whipped in a free-kick,
the shaggy hair of Puyol flicked it on but there was Cech saving the
day. Barca should have scored through Pedro, who hit the post, and
Sergio Busquets in the final minute but Chelsea held firm. As their
fans celebrated, the DJ played One Step Beyond.
Chelsea must now prove the next step, at the Nou Camp, is not beyond them.
=================
Mail:
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 0: Drog takes the lead! Blues battle to hold out
hope for Nou Camp
By MATT BARLOW
An astonishing Champions League victory for Chelsea is best summed up
in two particular aspects of Didier Drogba's performance.
His first-half goal was Chelsea's one attempt on target, while it was
the same largely isolated striker who got himself booked for fouling
Lionel Messi, his challenge typifying the work ethic of an ageing team
that simply refuses to let a dream die. A team that so wants one last
crack at the European Cup before Roman Abramovich breaks them up in
search of younger, fresher footballers.
Roberto Di Matteo did say Barcelona do not enjoying playing Chelsea
but the language might be a bit stronger after this. They must hate
it, their frustration illustrated at the sound of the final whistle by
Sergio Busquets launching the match ball high into the East Stand.
It was not what they would call football. It was not even what Cesc
Fabregas so dismissively referred to as the 'long-ball' tactics. It
was more high risk than that, Chelsea allowing Barcelona to have the
ball and then take the punishment the classy Catalans would dish out
in the hope of surviving long enough to get a chance of their own.
It was a strategy that demanded the highest levels of discipline and
concentration, a test as mentally draining as it was physically.
There were some extraordinary individual performances. Ashley Cole was
immense, as were John Terry, Gary Cahill and Ramires. While Petr Cech
produced a truly world-class save to deny Carles Puyol in the dying
moments.
But they secured the advantage they now take to the Nou Camp next week
as a collective brilliantly drilled by the remarkable Di Matteo. By an
emergency, interim coach who has now gone one better than Guus Hiddink
by beating the best club side we have ever seen.
Di Matteo came up with a plan Sir Alex Ferguson would never have
entertained ahead of the two Champions League finals he has so far
lost to the reigning European champions, but it worked beautifully.
They stifled Barcelona, smothering them with a five-man midfield that
was deployed just ahead of Terry and his defensive colleagues and
cleverly cutting off the usual supply lines to the best player in the
world.
In particular they focused on Dani Alves, with Ramires and Cole
combining brilliantly to reduce the threat posed by the Brazilian full
back and leave Messi demoralised and disheartened. He has now faced
Chelsea seven times, without a single goal to his name.
To Drogba, however, there was a goal and it came in first-half
stoppage time. It was like Ali versus Foreman for the first 45
minutes, with Chelsea on the ropes and taking a real pounding. Alexis
Sanchez had seen one effort rebound off the crossbar, while Fabregas
had seen Cole deny him with a terrific goal-line clearance.
But when Messi dared try and slip the ball through the legs of Frank
Lampard, the irrepressible England midfielder responded with the pass
of the match; a 40-yard delivery to the left flank that sent Ramires
clear of Alves. It was the most clinical of counter-attacks, swiftly
executed and finished with aplomb - Drogba escaping the attention of
Javier Mascherano to meet the cross from Ramires with a left-foot
finish Victor Valdes was powerless to stop.
That it was scored two minutes into stoppage time the referee may well
have added in response to Drogba collapsing to the ground may have
angered Barcelona. They certainly seemed unhappy about something when
they went to the officials at the end of the game.
But Drogba was alone in a war zone at Stamford Bridge, and if he
swapped the hysterics that marked his last appearance against
Barcelona with some histrionics to buy himself a bit of a breather
that is perhaps understandable. After his efforts at Wembley on Sunday
and the hard graft he had to put in here, the 34-year-old must have
been right on the limit of his physical capabilities.
Picking Drogba ahead of Fernando Torres was a great decision by Di
Matteo, but one that follows so many good calls since he succeeded
Andre Villas-Boas and revived a stuttering Chelsea side staring at an
early Champions League exit. He got his team right and his tactics
right and the best thing he can do now is stick with this approach
even if it will be harder to keep Barcelona at bay on the wide open
spaces of the Nou Camp pitch.
The statistics tell their own story from here. Pep Guardiola's side
had 79 per cent of the possession, unleashed 24 attempts to Chelsea's
four, six on target to Chelsea's one.
It looked ominous from the start, with Barcelona kicking off and
keeping the ball for 76 seconds before Chelsea even got a touch. And
no sooner had they touched it than Barcelona had it back again. Within
nine minutes, Sanchez had burst clear in pursuit of a delightful pass
from Andres Iniesta only to see his chip over an advancing Cech bounce
off the crossbar to safety.
Chelsea were working so hard, with Ramires, Raul Meireles, John Mikel
Obi and Lampard snapping into tackles. When Messi shaped to shoot, it
was Obi who blocked.
The Catalans would go closest to scoring three minutes before the
break, with a move that started when Messi took the ball off
Fabregas, lifting his shot over Cech only for Cole to clear off the
line. It made Drogba's goal all the more painful but all the more of a
surprise as well. It came from nothing, but was timed perfectly.
After the break Barcelona continued to threaten, with Sanchez seizing
on a ball from Fabregas but sending his shot wide when he probably
should have scored. But still Chelsea battled, still they held firm,
Cech producing the vital save when Puyol diverted a free-kick from
Messi with a glancing header in the final moments.
Even after that, in second-half stoppage-time, Barcelona went close
again, Busquets somehow blasting his effort over the crossbar after
seizing on a shot from Pedro Rodriguez that had bounced off a post.
Barcelona will be glad to now be meeting Chelsea at the Nou Camp, but
after this it will not be a contest they relish
MATCH FACTS
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard,
Meireles, Ramires (Bosingwa 88), Mata (Kalou 74), Drogba.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Essien, Torres,Malouda.
Goals: Drogba 45+2.
Booked: Ramires, Drogba
Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano, Busquets,
Iniesta, Xavi (Cuenca 86), Messi, Sanchez (Pedro 66), Fabregas (Thiago
78).
Subs not used: Pinto, Pique, Bartra, Keita.
Booked: Busquets, Pedro
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Attendance: 38,039
=================
Mirror:
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona: Drogba puts Blues in dreamland
By Martin Lipton
Half-way to Paradise. Half-way to the Promised Land.
The unlikely dream lives on, shining brighter than anyone could have
believed, after a victory chiseled out of sheer resilience, utter
desire, complete and total conviction.
And while the most difficult, perilous stage of the ultimate Chelsea
journey has to be survived and travelled in the Nou Camp next week,
nobody can count them out.
Not when they can defend with such intensity, such nerve, such belief.
Not when they can give Roberto Di Matteo so much, frustrating,
denying, refusing to concede any ground, as near to defensively
"perfect" as they could be.
A night which was supposed to be about Lionel Messi became a story of
less illustrious heroes, dressed in blue and not black.
Of Ashley Cole, a purring prince on the left.
Of John Terry, epitomising stoic resolve.
Of Gary Cahill, emerging from his moments of first half doubt to play
with maturity and assurance.
And, of course, as on so many of the great nights during the Roman
Abramovich era, of Didier Drogba.
The Ivorian has scored many better goals in the Champions League.
Indeed, he has scored better goals against Barcelona.
But the one he forced home in first half stoppage time, his fifth on
the Road to Munich, means Chelsea - Roberto Di Matteo's Chelsea - head
to the Nou Camp with the priceless advantage, the edge. Perhaps, after
all they survived, the initiative.
Of course, it was not just the goal, in the right spot to turn home
Ramires' cross-shot off the gloves and chest of Victor Valdes.
It was also the way Drogba played as the lone out-ball in a route-one
team that had no choice but to show courage and resolve from the first
kick.
He does infuriate, anger, irritate. If you started counting the number
of times he went down and stayed down on your hands, you would run out
of digits.
Yet Drogba remains a monster, a beast, able to occupy an entire back
line on his own, as he had to here, buying Chelsea the priceless,
precious time to regroup, reform and prepare for the next Barcelona
wave.
Waves which broke on the bulwarks of Chelsea's determined resistance
time and again, the ceaseless tide stymied by the rugged rocks, 72 per
cent of the ball adding up to one big fat zero.
On occasions, as Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas ensured Barca
stayed true to Pep Guardiola's unyielding and abiding principles all
the way until the final seconds of added time, when Pedro rolled
against the post and Sergio Busquets blazed over, it did not seem as
if it would be enough.
The first half in particular saw four massive Barcelona chances,
starting in the ninth minute when Iniesta's quality saw Alexis Sanchez
in on goal, lobbing over Petr Cech with the ball hanging in the air
before it dropped onto the bar.
Fabregas, of all people, missed a sitter when Cech parried Iniesta's
shot straight to him, then stung the keeper's palms after out-thinking
Cahill. Messi had a header saved.
Then, the crucial two minutes.
First, Messi rolled John Obi Mikel on half-way and tore forward,
before slipping in Fabregas, who teased past Cech with the outside of
his right foot only for Cole to clear off the line.
And almost instantly, the little Argentine was caught in possession by
Frank Lampard, who spotted Ramires' lung-busting run into the space
exposed by Dani Alves - the midfielder's main job was to stop his
fellow Brazilian cantering forward - with Drogba on hand to profit.
Barcelona looked shell-shocked and while they made an early surge
after the break, Adriano's curler kept out by Cech, Chelsea visibly
grew, in determination and defiance.
Cahill was immaculate, a serious of blocks, tackles and interventions
that galvanised his team, as Chelsea looked poised, Barca briefly
frantic, desperate, although Di Matteo's team were still playing like
the away side, knocking long to the one escape route.
And at the death, after Cech dived to thwart Carles Puyol, one last
escape, Pedro, sent on to score, seeing Cole's slight touch nudge his
shot against the upright with Busquets squandering the rebound.
The final whistle was greeted by the sounds of Madness.
Chelsea do need to take One Step Beyond what anyone might have believed.
Yet you cannot dismiss it, cannot write it off.
Not after this.
***
LOSE THE FIRST LEG AND IT'S ALWAYS ADIOS TO BARCELONA
The five previous occasions when Barcelona have lost the first leg of
a European Cup semi-final. Each time, they failed to reach the final.
1959-60 Real Madrid 3 Barca 1; Barca 1 Real Madrid 3. Agg 6-2
1974-75 Leeds 2 Barca 1; Barca 1 Leeds 1. Agg 3-2
1999-00 Valencia 4 Barca 1; Barca 2 Valencia 1. Agg 5-3
2001-02 Barca 0 Real Madrid 2; Real Madrid 1 Barca 1. Agg 1-3
2009-10 Inter 3 Barca 1; Barca 1 Inter 0. Agg 3-2
=================
Sun:
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 0
SLICK AS A DROG ... Didier Drogba seals remarkable win
By SHAUN CUSTIS
Barca may be a bunch of chums with all the pedigree but veteran
striker Didier Drogba converted Chelsea’s one chance to take a slender
advantage to the Nou Camp.
They say that, at 34, the Drog is on his last legs. But, last Sunday,
he scored a screamer to set up the 5-1 destruction of Spurs in the FA
Cup semi-final.
And here he fired in Chelsea’s only shot on target at the end of the
