The Big Drog

No, you cant appeal yellow cards, Im not sure if you can appeal straight red cards though.

Are we actually able to appeal this? If so then there is some hope.

Yes it is a big shame that we will be without Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles because all 4 of them deserve to play in the Champions League final. But instead of focusing on who we dont have, lets focus on who we do have. Petr Cech, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Juan Mata, Didier Drogba. These are all very good players, some of them are world class players and amongst that group are real leaders with a lot of experience, there are players there capable of winning a Champions League for us, I know the 4 lads will be a miss but we will still be able to field a very able and competitive starting 11 that will be a real test for Bayern or Real Madrid.

I always thought he is tailor made to play against Barcelona, his high energy style, his pure pace, his ability to break from deep and his understanding of his defensive responsibilities made him the near perfect player to play against Barcelona. He will be a miss in the final, probably not as much as Terry or Ivanovic but still a miss, a real shame he will miss out because he would have fully deserves to have played. A terrific player.

I was close to tears of agony and frustration when Terry was sent off and then Iniesta scored, what looked like, the game winning goal. Finally I did cry but they were tears of sheer delight, when Torres raced through on Valdes and rounded him, it's pretty hard to compare that moment of sheer ecstasy with anything else. For 30 minutes we defended well, particularly from around the 15 minute mark onward, we restricted Barcelona to ambitious shots from outside the box and a few un-Barcelona like passes. Then they got the equalizer and the whole game changed. Terry lost his head, I thought that was the end of the tie and when Iniesta scored so easily that just seemed to confirm that this tie was indeed over. The lads looked drained, demoralized and it looked like it could have turned into a trashing. Then came Ramires, with the most wonderful chip goal that you could ever hope to see, for someone constantly written off as purely a workhorse this was entirely out of character. I barely even celebrated the goal, I applauded the brilliance of the finish (and Lampard's terrific pass) but in the grand scheme of things I didn't think it meant much. Down to 10 men at the Camp Nou against the greatest side of their generation, arguably the greatest team to ever play the game, with a centre back pairing of Bosingwa and Ivanovic and Ramires as the right back I thought the Brazilian's goal would be little more than consolation, how wrong I was. The dive from Fabregas made me sick. My ambition of actually reaching the final had already been sapped but for tei to end like this, with a Messi penalty from a Fabregas dive made me absolutely furious, Messi missed, justice served but still I didn't believe, even in my heart of hearts that we could do it. Ivanovic missed a header, Kalou missed a good chance, I was exasperated, missed opportunities, precious commodities at the Camp Nou. But as the minutes ticked by, one by one, five by five, ten by ten, my heart was beating a little bit faster, my hands were getting just a bit clammier, my forehead just a bit wetter and by the 80th minute I was a nervous wreck. Finally I thought that maybe, just maybe, we could hold out for 10 minutes, still I wouldn't have bet on it. I don't think I can ever remember time moving slower than it did from around the 80th minute onwards. But then came Fernando Torres. Id seen it written as a joke that Torres would pop up in the 90th minute and score the winner but nobody could have seriously predicted what they saw tonight. It was one of the greatest games of football I've ever seen, not always in terms of quality but in terms of pure drama, excitement, the backstory, what it meant to both clubs, this was pure blockbuster. A extraordinary amount of credit must go to the lads. To keep Barcelona at bay for the best part of 60 minutes at the Camp Nou is something but to do it with 10 men is something else entirely. Everyone put in a shift, those lads out there on that pitch tonight were an absolute credit to the club, as were the fans who staid in the stadium long after the final whistle had sounded. From Petr Cech performing heroics in the Chelsea goal, to an excellent display from makeshift centre back duo Bosingwa and Ivanovic to an absolute masterclass of full back play from Ashley Cole to the hard working, disciplined midfield trio of Lampard, Meireles and Mikel, to the gut busting energy and touch of class of Ramires who played a bloody stormer at right back, to the hard work of Juan Mata, to the sheer determination, will power and brilliance of Didier Drogba who, filling in at left back, was absolutely monstrous to the composure and quality of Fernando Torres who will go down in Chelsea folklore for all of the right reasons after that goal tonight. You couldn't ask anything more of those players tonight. Looking ahead to the final, yes it is a big shame that important players like Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles will miss out, Ivanovic's interview with Geoff Shreeves after the game, where he discovered from Shreeves that he would miss the final nearly had me in tears again it was so depressing but that we have made it to a Champions League final from where we were only a couple of months ago means we cant really bemoan our luck. If you had said to somebody that we would go 2-0 down against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, have John Terry sent off with 60 minutes still remaining and still go on to score 2 goals and win the tie 3-2 they would think you are insane so why cant we win a Champions League final against either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid with a potential line up of Cech, Bsoingwa, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Kalou, Drogba, Mata. That team will be a challenge for any side to beat, absolutely we will be the underdogs no matter who we are playing but I fancy our chances of beating Bayern Munich or Real Madrid a hell of a lot more than I fancied our chances of beating Barcelona with 10 men and Bosingwa playing centre back.

What an incredible night we have in store, it's one of those days that make you proud to be a Chelsea fan, from being dead in the competition against Napoli in the last 16 (and looking doubtful to qualify from our group) to playing Barcelona in the Champions League semi final at the Camp Nou leading 1-0. I would love it if we could get through but this is the greatest obstacle imaginable in club football, Barcelona at the Camp Nou. This Barcelona side deserves all of the respect in the world, it is certainly the best side I've ever seen play the game and it will go down in history as one of the all time great teams. A victory tonight would rank right up there amongst the greatest in the club's history. Hopefully the lads do the club proud. They gave it there all at the Bridge, yes they had some luck on the way but the way they fought together as a team was a tribute to the blue jersey, I still consider Barcelona the favourites to go through tonight and even if Barcelona win I wont be here after the game lambasting our players, all I want tonight is the same kind of effort from the lads that we saw last Wednesday night and fingers crossed the result will follow.

A stunning result for Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. Having pegged Madrid's lead back to just 4 points, Barcelona would have been confident that they could cut it to 1 with Madrid still having to play at the Camp Nou but Madrid played a near perfect game. Their midfield left little space in front of the back four to exploit, Ozil, Di Maria and Benzema worked tirelessly and the Madrid backline were fluid in their movement, with either Pepe or Ramos being allowed to step into the midfield and challenge the loan central Barcelona player dropping deep (often Messi), Alonso's shielding role in particular was expertly done. Barcelona failed to create many great chances. When they did create their finishing was poor (Xavi and Tello). The big problem in the first half and early in the second half was simply that there was nobody to occupy the Madrid backline. That usually isn't a problem where Barcelona are concerned because Sanchez or Fabregas are often in the side making diagonal runs in behind the backline but they didn't have that tonight, it made it far easier for Madrid's backline and midfield to press higher and engage the Barcelona midfield higher up the pitch than perhaps they have done in recent Clasico's. Full credit to Madrid though, their counter attacks were swift and very well done. The winning goal was delightful, an inch perfect pass from Ozil (my pick for MOTM) and the finish of a man with the world of confidence from Ronaldo, also Ronaldo's celebration did make me laugh, imo, the best player in the world. Im delighted Madrid have all but secured the league. They deserve it, over the course of the season they have been the better team, the football they've played has been breathtaking at times and they fully deserve their moment. A tonne of credit must go to Jose Mourinho, he was charged with the mammoth task of overtaking, arguably, the greatest team the world has ever seen, he has accomplished that task, the cherry on the cake beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

After Spurs lost to QPR it looks like or point away at the Emirates is a decent one and keeps us right in contention for a top four place. The performance was solid, though unspectacular. We looked good defensively, Cahill and Terry look an impressive partnership and Bertrand was excellent at left back, he looks like a ready made replacement for Cole (though he could be waiting a long time, judging by Cole's display against Barcelona) But there were also negatives. The main one is Daniel Sturridge, I understand that he is a fairly young player and he is playing in a position that isn't the one he favours but that does not excuse his mind boggling decision making, the amount of time he takes on the ball is ridiculous, several times there was an easy pass on which could have resulted in a good scoring opportunity but Sturridge hesitates for so long. I had high hopes for him but he is going down the Kalou route of no return. Speaking of Kalou, hard working? Yes. Energetic? Yes. A bit lucky? Yes. But he too had chances to make more happen in front of goal and failed. Torres worked hard, buzzed around the Arsenal midfield when they were on the ball but never looked like getting anything out of Vermaelen or Koscielny, after Drogba's two powerhouse performances against Spurs and Barcelona, Torres was never going to be able to compare and this was the type of game in which we could desperately have done with the big Ivorian.Hopefully the great man will be back for the second leg in the Camp Nou, he will be needed. Anyway I'll end on a positive. Im glad Romeu got a game, he did well. Essien did quite well in midfield too. That we can go away to a tough place like the Emirates and start without so many of our regular starting 11 and still get a draw is a positive sign in my books. It looked like a fairly decent point that has been turned into a good one by Spurs losing to QPR.

Cole entered a masterclass against Barcelona, just as he had entered a superb display against Spurs a few days earlier. Despite the OTT criticisms he got on here a few months ago, he remains the finest full back in the business.

I think there are a few who could be ready to make the step up to the first team but we can't just rely on the youth academy/reserves, they must be mixed in with some big signings in the Summer too. I think McEachran is probably the most obvious candidate to compete for a first team spot, with our problems in central midfield he is the type of player we need and, while Im not saying that he will take the world by storm straight away, I think he would grow into the role if he played on a semi regular basis. Kakuta's progress has stalled (partially our fault) and he says he doesn't want any more loan deals so lets simply give him Malouda's role in the side, that of being someone who usually comes off the bench and gets the odd start and if he impresses then maybe he could become a regular fixture in the side, Id rather give Kakuta the chance to impress than continuously seeing Malouda fail. Bertrand is already fairly established in the squad now. Hopefully we see more of Lukaku next season and Kevin De Bruyne too.

Definitely Mata. He might find more space on the larger Camp Nou pitch and thus might be more effective when he gets the ball. Also he is clever enough to not lose the ball running down blind alleys, ala Kalou, we cant afford to lose possession cheaply at the Camp Nou because having it will be so rare. It's not as if he negated his defensive duties in the first leg, he did a fine job covering space but never got the ball enough to have an impact on the game. If the chance comes and Drogba is making a run, Id rather it be Mata passing him the ball than Kalou.

It seems that Di Matteo has put his stock in the more experienced players until the end of the season. I just hope that Romeu is considered to be part of the Mata, Luiz, Ramires group that will carry the club in the future and hopefully will feature more next season, he is a terrific talent.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I was sweating buckets, I can only dread to imagine what the Chelsea players must have been feeling, on top of the nerves, the slight problem of Barcelona knocking the ball around you for the best part of 90 minutes. Huge credit to the lads, they never broke ranks, they held their shape, they maintained concentration, they stuck to the carefully orchestrated gameplan of Di Matteo. I was just delighted to once again see this group of players play in a Champions League semi final, to go from where we were towards the end of AVB's reign to where we are now is just incredible. Each and every single player put in a mammoth effort and it was rewarded. You have to give credit to Barcelona, they do play some lovely football and even despite Chelsea's near superhuman work ethic they still carved out some good (and great) opportunities but luckily for us they failed to take them. Every single Chelsea player played their part in this result. If you were looking for standouts then Cech was excellent in goal, read the game well, quick off his line and made a dazzling save from Puyol's header. Ivanovic put in a solid shift at right back, Cahill looked a bit shakey first half but rose to the occasion magnificently in the second, John Terry was nothing short of heroic, you see the criticism he constantly gets and I for one never understand it, for me he is, and always has been, one of the best centre backs in the world and undoubtedly is England's finest defender, alongside him Ashley Cole put in something close to a masterclass at left back, still the best in the business. Mikel and Meireles worked hard in midfield to close down space and dispurt Barcelona's passing in front of the back four, Lampard did the same and his tackle to win the ball from Messi and subsequent pass created the goal. Mata worked hard but had little chance to shine on the ball, Ramires was tailor made for this game, with his work ethic, he helped to shackle Dani Alves and with his pace he was a fantastic outlet to have on the counter attack (as we witnessed when he set up Drogba) But my pick for MOTM is Didier Drogba. Tonight was vintage Drogba, in those 90 minutes everything Drogba has embodied during his 8 year's at Chelsea were captured, tonight's game was a sort of microcosm of his entire Chelsea career. Yes we saw the theatrics, we saw some wild feigning of injury, we saw some of the most anguished looks of pain you are likely to see this side of a WWE wrestling match (though Im not sure if Busquets was the right person to lecture him on that), we saw time wasting, we saw him caught offside a near ridiculous amount of times. We also saw raw power, we saw the odd burst of speed, we saw some breathtaking dribbles, we saw some jawdropping examples of technique on the ball, we saw a formation that could possibly be described as 4-5-Drogba, we saw a tower of strength leading the Chelsea line, we saw the one Chelsea player that Barcelona were actually a bit fearful of, we saw time and time again how after long periods of pressure, a simple ball to Drogba and he relieved the pressure, held it up and gave us a chance to get out of our own half, we saw how, on the big occasion, on a big night, in the greatest club competition in the world, against the greatest team in the world, Didier Drogba proved the difference and I think we saw the greatest Chelsea player there has ever been, I never saw Peter Osgood play but for me he is better than Zola, better than Lampard, better than Terry and when it's all said and done and years from now, I think that fans who saw Didier play will speak of him in the same regard and tone that fans who saw Osgood play speak of him today, tonight we saw another legendary performance from one of our most legendary players. Can we get to the final? Well we have given ourselves a chance and that is something which some people thought we absolutely didn't have. Stopping Barcelona from scoring at the amp Nou will be one of the toughest tasks imaginable but we did it before (in 2009) and though the circumstances are different this time, we have got something to hold onto and a huge part of the scoreline tonight was Barcelona failing to score the away goal. Barcelona will still be considered favourites, and rightly so, this is, arguably, the greatest team we have ever seen play the game but we have given ourselves a chance, a real chance, of beating Barcelona and getting to the final in Munich. Who would have thought that possible only a few months ago?

Thanks for the highlights Esk.

Credit to Bayern, an impressive performance tonight to keep Madrid at bay by limiting their chances and managing to look dangerous going forward and converting a couple of their own chances. In particular Ribery (minus the theatrics), Kroos and Alaba were all excellent. Ribery was probably the most threatening player on the pitch but it was Kroos who impressed most, the lad is very highly rated in Germany and, along with Ozil and Goetze, makes up a formidable wealth of playmaker options for Germany to choose from.

Yes it was shameful that a minority of fans disrupted the moments silence, particularly because the moments silence was not only about Hillsborough. However Liverpool's attitude is every bit as ridiculous as the minority of our fans were shameful. Their refusal to play on the date of the disaster is mind boggling, particularly because, on this occasion, it has caused a fellow English side a disadvantage in European competition. Their victim complex never fails to vex me, nor does the sanctimonious attitude of their fans. Hate is a strong word but if any football club comes close to making me "hate" it really is Liverpool.

Stunning display. We started the game well, our passing was controlled and we looked fairly secure, Spurs came into the game but it was Drogba's wonder-goal that changed the whole match. It deflated Spurs and we came out in the second half buzzing. Ok granted we were lucky to be awarded the ghost goal though Bale's quick response turned the momentum in their favour but credit to the lads, they didn't cave in, infact quite the opposite, they came out fighting and caught Spurs perfectly on the counter. All in all it was a powerful performance and we more than deserved the victory on the day. Some standout performances. Gary Cahill did very well when he came on, John Terry was superb at the back, Mikel and Lampard surprisingly looked the best midfield duo on the day (over Parker and Modric), Ramires and Kalou were brilliant outlets on the counter and both played a vital role in keeping tabs on Spurs flying wingers, Mata was terrific, as the game wore on, he found more space and his sublime pass to Ramires clinched the game for us, the lad is an absolute class act. But my pick for MOTM is Didier Drogba. In big games, when things are tight and you need somebody to make the difference, somebody to make something out of nothing to spark your team into life and drive them on to victory, you need a special kind of player, a big game player and Didier Drogba is a big game player. Rolling back the years, the 34 year old Ivorian powerhouse bullied, tormented and wrecked havoc on the Spurs backline. A superhuman force both in the Spurs box and in ours, Didier grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. His opening goal was one for his highlight reel, it will rank up there with the best of his goals, a vintage Drogba goal, it's just a long ball down the pitch from Lampard, Drogba's back to goal, Gallas tight on him, but a spin, a touch and a blistering left footed volley into the near post of the Spur's goal, Drogba making something of nothing, as he has been doing for years, another Wembley goal for Drogba and one that set us up to win the game today. I wasn't around to see the great Chelsea teams of the past play, and I was quite young when Zola was in his pomp in a Chelsea jersey but for me, I cant remember a better Chelsea player than Didier Drogba, that's purely my opinion but he has been Chelsea's great player now for quite a few years and if this is his last hurrah then what a great hurrah it is.

Just on the article pasted a bit above. If the "journalist" who produced that piece was hoping to come across as stereotypically old school British in regards philosophy on football then grade A sir, a job well done. I imagine Mr.Burns has missed the whole Barcelona dominating European football thing or Spain winning the European Championships and the World Cup, God only knows what he thinks when he sees Pique or Dani Alves, oh and Luiz has actually played against Messi before (for Brazil vs. Argentina) and actually had a pretty damn good game. Hopefully the injury isn't too bad, it's a shame that he will likely miss the Barcelona game, with his pace and aggressive style I thought he would have been the perfect centre back to combat Barcelona, not to mention his clever distribution.

I dont get some of the comments at all. How is he suppose to save Ronaldo's first two goals? They were both absolutely top drawer. The freekick was nothing short of astounding, the movement in that ball, there is nothing any keeper could do about that and the second is, if possible, even more impossible to save. By the time Callejon scored the Athletico defence had packed it in and he would have done damn well to save the shot anyway, it wasn't one he should save. He made a couple of smart near post saves and an excellent 1-1 save with Ronaldo. Not a lot else he could do.

The tempo of the passing is so ridiculously slow, plodding and negative that we never looked like sweeping aside Fulham, even after going 1-0 up. Yes there are other problems, a lack of penetration on the flanks is a big problem, a lack of quality delivery from the full backs is another (teams often dont mind letting our full backs getting their crosses into the box) but the greatest problem is a lack of tempo in the passing. Im not saying that the side go out there with the plan to play slow, predictable, dull football, rather I think it is simply that that is the only kind of football these players can play. How many times last night did Raul Meireles pick up the ball in a promising position, finding a bit of space behind the Fulham midfield, only to fail to turn and then he ends up playing the ball backwards again, he doesn't have the creativity, imagination or technical ability to play as a number 10. Behind him, Lampard and Mikel are far too negative with their passing, worse still they seem to take an age to actually pass the ball. David Luiz always looks like one of our most threatening creative players when he plays, despite being a centre back, his clever, quick distribution was a miss last night also. It also doesn't help that the winger's, Kalou and Ramires, lack quality on the ball and always look more likely to lose the ball than actually find a teammate. As a result of it all, Torres had absolutely nothing to feed on, nor did Drogba when he came on. Juan Mata is the first choice number 10, his absence was a real loss last night. But in the central midfield positions, changes are desperately needed in the Summer. Modric would have been the perfect signing, a player who can play in a deeper central area than Mata but remain a creative force (as he has done for Spurs)., we must look for a player like that in the Summer. Alongside him I believe Romeu is the man for the job, the La Masia graduate is far superior on the ball than both Mikel and Essien, his passing is quicker, his link up play more effective, his general dictating of tempo more positive, he should be the first choice central midfielder next season. Yes a penetrating winger is needed, so too are arguably a striker and a right back but I think that more important than all of those things is a central midfielder who doesn't require 5 touches and 6 seconds to make a 10 yard pass backwards.

Terrific result for us, Spurs losing against Norwich. A perfect chance to cement ourselves as favourites for 4th spot.

Absolutely vital that we pick up 3 points tonight. Given that we managed to rest a couple of players on Saturday, Id like to see Cech Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole Mikel, Lampard Sturridge, Mata, Kalou Torres

A big rich club like PSG or Anzhi would snap him up. He still has name value and, despite his often poor performances for us this season, still seems to be respected as a player.

This is the second time we have seen something like this from Essien in the last few months. Im not saying that Essien has some sort of diabolical plan for us to not reach the Champions League next season but he really has to think about what he is doing and how it will look to the fans. He has been taken off after playing really poorly, we have just conceded a goal that could kill any chance we have of making the Champions league next season, he is one of the most experienced and high earning players in the whole squad and there he is laughing his head off. I wouldn't mind in the least if he was sold this Summer, I think he is past it, the injuries have taken their toll on him and his attitude (at least the one we see on our screens each week) appears questionable at best.

It's telling that at the end of the game, the name reverberating around the stadium was Fernando Torres. I dont know why we waste him playing on the right wing, that being said a couple of his crosses were class, his off the ball runs are of the highest quality and that volley was so very sweet, shame that it didn't end up in the net but, imo, it is he who has saved our Champions League hopes for next season. I understand that he needed a bit of a rest today but hopefully he is back in the team for the Fulham game Monday night, he has taken the mantle of Chelsea's main man. All of that being said, we were very lucky. Ivanovic was clearly offside, we were very wasteful in taking our chances and Wigan's performance warranted a point on the day. Just a few thoughts: Daniel Sturridge is ridiculously selfish, it's no wonder the SB crowd has begun to turn against him, was never really in the game today, has a chance to play a fairly simple square ball to Torres for a tap in but instead elects to shoot from an impossible angle on his left foot. After conceding the equaliser, a goal that could have ended our top 4 hopes, the camera panned to Di Matteo seconds after the ball hit the net, in the background you could see Michael Essien clearly laughing his head off. WTF? We are on the verge of not being in the premier club competition next season (a calamity for the club's short term and long term prospects) Essien has been with the club long enough to know what that means and is paid handsomely enough to care about the club's fortunes, on top of that he was poor while he was on the pitch, disgusting. Ryan Bertrand put in a strong display and doesn't look at all out of place in the Chelsea back four, Cole has been playing well lately so there is no fear of him being ousted from the team but if injury or suspension were take Cole out of the team, Bertrand is a worthy deputy. All in all, hugely important 3 points, with Spurs dropping points earlier in the day and City playing Arsenal tomorrow, this was our chance to gain some ground on the two north London clubs, we made it far more difficult than it should have been but we did it, that's the important thing.