Chelsea 1 - 0 Barcelona - 1st Leg Full-time CL Semi-final

[NigerianPrince]

Congratulations to Chelsea FC in defeating Tottenham Hotspurs yesterday in the 2012 FA Cup Semi-Final. May the best team win in the FA Cup Final next month. You will have the blues (Chelsea FC) vs. reds (Liverpool FC) in the FA Cup Final.

Now the real big test for Chelsea FC is about to start. Their upcoming game today against Barcelona FC (Champions' League defending Champions aka European domestic club Champions of Champions) in the Champions' League Semifinal will show how good this Chelsea FC is.

Do you think they have any chance of winning against Barcelona FC when both leg matches have been played? Only time will tell. Let's take a pause, and imagine Chelsea FC doing the double (winning the FA Cup and Champions' League) this year. What would you say? Just imagine for a second.

Just curious, when last did Chelsea FC did the double in the same year?

May the best team win the Semi-Final leg 1 on Wednesday April 18th 2012 (Today).

Enjoy both Champions' League Semifinals.

Peace and God bless,
from the one and only,
NigerianPrince...

---------------------------- Quoted from GameCast on ESPN--------------------

Kick-Off: 2:45pm EDT (7:45pm Nigerian time today on Wednesday, April 18th 2012)

Game Venue: Stamford Bridge

Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Messi, Alexis. Subs: Pinto, Bartra, Thiago, Pique, Pedro, Keita, Cuenca.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Meireles, Ramires, Mata, Drogba. Subs: TBC

For Barcelona, Gerard Pique does not return to the starting line-up with Javier Mascherano alongside Carles Puyol and Adriano at full-back. Other than that Barca are as expected.

The teams are in. The big news is Didier Drogba getting the nod ahead of Fernando Torres up front. David Luiz is injured so Gary Cahill comes into the starting line-up. Branislav Ivanovic is available for Europe, so he too returns with Jose Bosingwa dropped. Raul Meireles is in for Salomon Kalou.

Update:

-Chelsea leads by one goal against Barcelona FC at the end of the first half. Didier Drogba scores in the 47th minute of the First half despite Barcelona FC attacking throughout the first half. Lionel Messi almost scored in the first half. Thanks to Chelsea's defender Ashley Cole clearing it out in enough time. There you have it, Chelsea leads. It's now half-time.

-Second half is underway. A missed chance for Barcelona in the 93rd minute. Hit Chelsea's Goal Post.

I guess you can say this reminds me of the game between Ghana and Zambia in the Semi-final at the 2012 African Cup of Nations back in February (little over 2 months ago). The Favorites here lost so many clear chances of scoring. Congratulations to Chelsea in defeating Barcelona FC in the first leg!!! Second leg is scheduled for next week Tuesday on April 24th 2012...

[Lager-back]

chelsea did the fa cup and league double in 2010 when carlo ancelotti was the coach

[NigerianPrince]

chelsea did the fa cup and league double in 2010 when carlo ancelotti was the coach

Thanks for the info and answer. Much appreciated.

Peace and God bless,
from the one and only,
NigerianPrince...

[kajifu]

chelsea did the fa cup and league double in 2010 when carlo ancelotti was the coach

Chelsea down fall will start this against Barca.The blues should hope referee favour them this too in CL like in epl.
It will be nice to see Barca tic tac them then Arsenal do the double on saturday.
Well with that said i expect Chelsea to come out and play physicallly and beat this la liga power house.
Any thing less than a victory for Chelsea in this first leg they are out.

[zoro]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

[kajifu]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

Barca very weak?Chelsea will be parking the bus from what i know and if they play just power power then they will be chasing the ball and tired within 70 minutes of play.
But if Chelsea coach know one or two things,he need to attack Barca from the start and get a goal.
If you watch Chelsea against Valencia,Napoli and Benfica,they allow this team with the ball and hit them on counter attack.
It work out but Barcelona is a whole different level.If you allow them to have the ball all time.Then they will score you if you dont attack them.
Chelsea better come correct in the first leg.They mus score Barca and try to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
If they allow Barca score them at the bridge,its over in Camp nou as the is just no way you can stop Barca at home not to score.Well you better

[marko]

If there is any team that can beat barcelona, it has to be chelsea!!!!

[mcal]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

Barca very weak?Chelsea will be parking the bus from what i know and if they play just power power then they will be chasing the ball and tired within 70 minutes of play.
But if Chelsea coach know one or two things,he need to attack Barca from the start and get a goal.
If you watch Chelsea against Valencia,Napoli and Benfica,they allow this team with the ball and hit them on counter attack.
It work out but Barcelona is a whole different level.If you allow them to have the ball all time.Then they will score you if you dont attack them.
Chelsea better come correct in the first leg.They mus score Barca and try to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
If they allow Barca score them at the bridge,its over in Camp nou as the is just no way you can stop Barca at home not to score.Well you better

...they were weak vs levante (may be because 2nd and 3rd stringers were used) and ref's assist.

[Vincent.]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

Barca very weak?Chelsea will be parking the bus from what i know and if they play just power power then they will be chasing the ball and tired within 70 minutes of play.
But if Chelsea coach know one or two things,he need to attack Barca from the start and get a goal.
If you watch Chelsea against Valencia,Napoli and Benfica,they allow this team with the ball and hit them on counter attack.
It work out but Barcelona is a whole different level.If you allow them to have the ball all time.Then they will score you if you dont attack them.
Chelsea better come correct in the first leg.They mus score Barca and try to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
If they allow Barca score them at the bridge,its over in Camp nou as the is just no way you can stop Barca at home not to score.Well you better

...they were weak vs levante (may be because 2nd and 3rd stringers were used) and ref's assist.

Which ref's assist? Why do you people like to make up stories? As for Levante, it is not an easy team to beat at home. It defeated Real Madrid at home.

Barca should be OK if they control the ball and limit opportunities for counter-attacks from Chelsea. Chelsea will most likely tighten its defense and use fast counter-attacks. That is the most logical strategy for them.Barca need to deal with Drogba just like they dealt with Ibrahimovic...

[mcal]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

Barca very weak?Chelsea will be parking the bus from what i know and if they play just power power then they will be chasing the ball and tired within 70 minutes of play.
But if Chelsea coach know one or two things,he need to attack Barca from the start and get a goal.
If you watch Chelsea against Valencia,Napoli and Benfica,they allow this team with the ball and hit them on counter attack.
It work out but Barcelona is a whole different level.If you allow them to have the ball all time.Then they will score you if you dont attack them.
Chelsea better come correct in the first leg.They mus score Barca and try to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
If they allow Barca score them at the bridge,its over in Camp nou as the is just no way you can stop Barca at home not to score.Well you better

...they were weak vs levante (may be because 2nd and 3rd stringers were used) and ref's assist.

Which ref's assist? Why do you people like to make up stories? As for Levante, it is not an easy team to beat at home. It defeated Real Madrid at home.

Barca should be OK if they control the ball and limit opportunities for counter-attacks from Chelsea. Chelsea will most likely tighten its defense and use fast counter-attacks. That is the most logical strategy for them.Barca need to deal with Drogba just like they dealt with Ibrahimovic...

....the pk to barca.

[Vincent.]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

Barca very weak?Chelsea will be parking the bus from what i know and if they play just power power then they will be chasing the ball and tired within 70 minutes of play.
But if Chelsea coach know one or two things,he need to attack Barca from the start and get a goal.
If you watch Chelsea against Valencia,Napoli and Benfica,they allow this team with the ball and hit them on counter attack.
It work out but Barcelona is a whole different level.If you allow them to have the ball all time.Then they will score you if you dont attack them.
Chelsea better come correct in the first leg.They mus score Barca and try to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
If they allow Barca score them at the bridge,its over in Camp nou as the is just no way you can stop Barca at home not to score.Well you better

...they were weak vs levante (may be because 2nd and 3rd stringers were used) and ref's assist.

Which ref's assist? Why do you people like to make up stories? As for Levante, it is not an easy team to beat at home. It defeated Real Madrid at home.

Barca should be OK if they control the ball and limit opportunities for counter-attacks from Chelsea. Chelsea will most likely tighten its defense and use fast counter-attacks. That is the most logical strategy for them.Barca need to deal with Drogba just like they dealt with Ibrahimovic...

....the pk to barca.

It was a penalty. When a defender uses his hands to push an opponent off the ball in the penalty box without going for the ball, it is a penalty. If it was a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, you could say maybe not a penalty. But here, the defender used his hands to push Cuenca off the ball when he was potentially in a position to take a shot. Here is the replay:

[/video]

[Lager-back]

[Al B Sure]

Chjelsea getting a phantom goal does that mean they were....... never mind.


It should be a good game. I will be suprised if Barca wins at Stamford Bridge.

[valachi]

I am a die hard Blues fan but I will be objective, we will try to win this at home at all cost. Barca will be easy to beat, trust me y'all are in for a suprise. The return leg if we win at home we definately parking the damn bus, anywhere belle face the ball time 90 mins is over. who care about entertaning we need to with CL .

[paj]

I am a little bit apprehensive about this Chelsea resurgence. When such happens to teams they can spring surprises. Now that Barca is very weak they will need lots of defending to check this Chelsea power play. The 1st 20 minutes will be very crucial for Barca. That will be when Chelsea will unleash the greatest attack on them.

..actually it's Chelsea that will be vulnerable in the first20 minutes...it takes our so called "ageing squad" that long to get it going...but once we do..it's lock down..

[bonecrusher]

I don't care much for Barca but they will whoop Chelsea atleast 3-0. Anything less will be due to unforseen circumstances like an injury to messi or a red card

[Vincent.]

Figo vs Babayaro (Barca vs Chelsea, Champions League quarter-final, 2000). Babayaro heard wien

[paj]

I guess Barca has arrived for their Walk In The Park...

[paj]

...A team with a suspect defence vs a team with a suspect offense....

[galoise]

One thing we can be absolutely certain about (heck, if I could bet on it, i would) is that should Didier be played, he will probably have his best game ever; irrespective of the final score line.

[Vincent.]

One thing we can be absolutely certain about (heck, if I could bet on it, i would) is that should Didier be played, he will probably have his best game ever; irrespective of the final score line.

Or he could do what he has always done against Barca - dive all over the place, commit needless fouls in attack, or fail to take his chance when 1 v 1 with the keeper...

[Bigpokey24]

[/video]

[Bigpokey24]

Chelsea v Barcelona in the Champions League

• 2008-09 - semi-final
  Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea; Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (Barcelona win on away goals)
  
  2006-07 - group stage
  Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona; Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (Chelse wins)
  
  2005-06 - last 16
  Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona; Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (Barcelona win 3-2 on agg)
  
  2004-05 - last 16
  Barcelona 2-1 Chelsea; Chelsea 4-2 Barcelona (Chelsea win 5-4 on agg)
  
  1999-2000 - quarter-final
  Chelsea 3-1 Barcelona; Barcelona 5-1 Chelsea (Barcelona win 6-4 on agg)