Three reasons why Chelsea beat Barcelona

The 2011-12 Champions League has witnessed some of the most epic semi-final clashes. With Bayern clinically dismantling Real Madrid 2-1, the stage was set for Chelsea to cause a major upset by stopping the ruthless Barcelona in their tracks. The Blues were tagged as the weakest team in the final four of the CL. Many expected them to either fade out of the match, gifting the result to Barca, or hold out for a drab stalemate. Very much like the 2009 semis, where they frustrated Barca at Nou Camp, forcing them to settle for a 0-0 draw.

It was no different this time, with the only difference being that Chelsea emerged unscathed out of the tie, with a one goal lead. They had just achieved a seemingly insurmountable task, that of beating Barcelona 1-0, courtesy of a Didier Drogba goal deep into first-half extra time.

1.TACTICALLY PERFECT

Everybody wrote off Chelsea. Nobody expected them to get a draw, leave alone a positive result. But Di Matteo was not fazed by the barrage of negativity and criticism that preceded the match. He did what any sensible manager would do to stop Barcelona, that being curb their free-flowing tiki-taka football by posting 10 men behind the ball at all times. And it worked perfectly.

The ‘old guard’ listened to every detailed instruction that RDM gave them, and implemented it flawlessly. Messi was not given any space and time to work his magic, he was always being shadowed by Raul Meireles or Mikel to challenge for possession. Thus, when Messi is marked out of the game, you know that Barca are going to have a tough time getting something out of a match. Even Mata was forced to sacrifice his creative tendencies for a far-more practical central midfield role, where he was ordered to mark Xavi and Busquets. Although Chelsea were insipid when they had possession, they were content with just hoofing the ball away from their half, they made up for this with their off-the-ball positioning and movement.

2. PETR CECH

You can say that allowing the opposition to have 24 attempts at goal does not herald great defending. But it does herald a GREAT goalkeeper when six of those on target were brilliantly saved.

Cech was simply outstanding throughout the game. His world-class saves enabled Chelsea to not concede the all-important away goal. If not for his brilliance, the scoreline could very well have read 4-1 or 5-1 in favour of the visitors. As it stands, Cech was the hero of last night’s match. He stretched his entire 1.98 m frame to parry a Carlos Puyol header near the end of the match, which left the veteran defender shaking his head in disbelief. In addition, his magnificent save to block Adriano’s wicked curler was simply awesome. For all those who argued that the Czech keeper had lost his touch, this performance was indeed a fitting reply to them.

3. BARCELONA’S PROFLIGACY

Okay, most of us have agreed that Chelsea were superb last night. They shackled the likes of Messi, Xavi and Alves quite efficiently, not allowing them to make any impact on the scoreline. Agreed that Cech was simply outstanding, producing some top-class saves to preserve the clean sheet for his side.

But even Barcelona should share some of the blame. They have only themselves to blame for not converting the innumerable clear-cut chances that came their way. Alexis Sanchez was woeful, pathetic, or whatever adjective best describes his horrid 90 minutes. For a striker of his calibre, known to be a deadly finisher, he was expected to score. When Fabregas beautifully chipped the ball over the Chelsea defence into the path of the onrushing Sanchez, Stamford Bridge held its breath. With no blue shirt visible around him, it was up to him to put the ball into the back of the net. Instead, what we saw was Sanchez fluff his lines and roll the ball out of play for a goal-kick. In a game of such monumental importance, such profligacy usually goes punished.

Similar was the case with Busquets, when the match was nearing its end. Pedro Rodriguez could only watch his low drive cannon off the crossbar. Busquets came into the 18-yard box in full throttle and blazed the rebound high over the bar, with the goal at his mercy. Surely, that marked the end of the contest, where a tight defense and superb organization triumphed over the beauty of intricate football. Barcelona have a lot to do before they can overcome these hurdles, and ensure they beat Chelsea at Nou Camp by a hefty scoreline to keep their hopes of winning consecutive CL trophies alive.

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