Closed Chelsea 1 - 0 Barcelona

[capriccioso 2,545]

we wont score with torres, mate

drogba has to start. even an 80% fit drogba

Harsh on Torres.

Besides, the man in my avatar has a knack of scoring vital goals, or so I'm told

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Depends on who score first. The longer we can keep it at 0-0, the more chance that we have to go through. Key thing here is not conceding early.

Spot on. The early part of the game will go a long way in deciding the tie. If we can stop Barca from scoring for the first 20 mins, even the first half, we will be very close to beating Barca. They will get frustrated, lose confidence and start throwing everyone forward which is when we can counter attack and be deadly. We need to grab at least one goal here, so we can have a bit of comfort. Letting 2 goals in would still mean we go through so getting a goal is crucial.

...However, If Farca score early, say in the first 15 minutes, the shackles will come off and we will be murdered...

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

It will be interesting to see how RDM approaches the second leg.Primary target would be to stay more defensive and so if that's the case then I feel Raul should get picked over Mata.If Barcelona score then Mata should be brought on but till then Raul or even Essien should start instead of Mata.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Saw someone mentioned on Twitter that RDM went to talk to Hiddink about this game. Not sure if it is true because no one picked up on it but it makes sense if he did anyway.

Fair utilisation of resources. I wonder if Hiddink's still on Roman's payroll, wouldn't surprise me if he is. We could certainly use Hiddink's scouting contacts, but as coach of Anzhi I doubt it.

[Strike 7,218]

Harsh on Torres.

Besides, the man in my avatar has a knack of scoring vital goals, or so I'm told

RDM won't have the balls to put Kalou upfront

[Owizzy 19]

To win Barca we must resort to man to man marking, there should NEVER be any Barca attacker left free. We should mark all their players so they dont have room to pass to each other. We dont wanna see a re-enactment of Messi dribbling Mikel (his runner-up for man of the tournament in their U21 days) and making him tumble over simply beacuse he, Mikel was forced to have to block both Messi and any potential team mate Messi was gonna pass to. This should not repeat itself at nou-camp every player must MARRY a Barca player and let Ramires/Drogba/Sturridge/Torres inflict the damage on Barca. The rest including Lampard of the players from Mata backwards should all concentrate on 100% total defence, Occassionally Mata can make forays in the attack. I bet you if we paly man-to-man with Barca they will be caged. Mark my word.... buts thats only if we adopt this technique.

[Owizzy 19]

Depends on who score first. The longer we can keep it at 0-0, the more chance that we have to go through. Key thing here is not conceding early.

Spot on. The early part of the game will go a long way in deciding the tie. If we can stop Barca from scoring for the first 20 mins, even the first half, we will be very close to beating Barca. They will get frustrated, lose confidence and start throwing everyone forward which is when we can counter attack and be deadly. We need to grab at least one goal here, so we can have a bit of comfort. Letting 2 goals in would still mean we go through so getting a goal is crucial.

...However, If Farca score early, say in the first 15 minutes, the shackles will come off and we will be murdered...

Dont talk about Barca scoring, talk about Chelsea scoring and preventing Barca from scoring; Anyways here is the winning formular:

To win Barca we must resort to man-to-man marking, there should NEVER be any Barca attacker left free. We should mark all their players so they dont have room to pass to each other. We dont wanna see a re-enactment of Messi dribbling Mikel (his runner-up for man of the tournament in their U21 days) and making him tumble over simply beacuse he, Mikel was forced to have to block both Messi and any potential team mate Messi was gonna pass to. This should not repeat itself at nou-camp every player must MARRY a Barca player and let Ramires/Drogba/Sturridge/Torres inflict the damage on Barca. The rest including Lampard of the players from Mata backwards should all concentrate on 100% total defence, Occassionally Mata can make forays in the attack. I bet you if we paly man-to-man with Barca they will be caged. Mark my word.... buts thats only if we adopt this technique.

[Santiago. 1,500]

Considering the lineup and the game plan for the away leg, this is what i would propose.

From watching Barca throughout the season, they will be more than eager to try a three man defense leaving Alves to push up as a right mid, leaving Puyol to fill the space. Fact of the matter is, we will barley see any of the ball, but with this method, it gives us a more direct approach to the game which allows us to attack Barca on the counter. When Barca have the ball, as they will for the majority of the match, putting Torres up top leaving Drogba to drop and fill his defensive duties, while Torres attacks the defensive and midfield while they possess will benefit us the most. Out of my experience in watching Barca play, they are most afraid and look vulnerable when someone is attacking their defense when Puyol and Pique have the ball, that is where Torres comes in. With this method, it allows us to get involved with the play rather than sit back and watch Barca come at us similar to the first leg, which i can guarantee they will shove their foot down our throats if we don't have a man pressuring the defense, I.E Torres

[chealsist 23]

Considering the lineup and the game plan for the away leg, this is what i would propose.

From watching Barca throughout the season, they will be more than eager to try a three man defense leaving Alves to push up as a right mid, leaving Puyol to fill the space. Fact of the matter is, we will barley see any of the ball, but with this method, it gives us a more direct approach to the game which allows us to attack Barca on the counter. When Barca have the ball, as they will for the majority of the match, putting Torres up top leaving Drogba to drop and fill his defensive duties, while Torres attacks the defensive and midfield while they possess will benefit us the most. Out of my experience in watching Barca play, they are most afraid and look vulnerable when someone is attacking their defense when Puyol and Pique have the ball, that is where Torres comes in. With this method, it allows us to get involved with the play rather than sit back and watch Barca come at us similar to the first leg, which i can guarantee they will shove their foot down our throats if we don't have a man pressuring the defense, I.E Torres

I'm agree with you.

[MagicManMata 24]

Drogs over Torres for me.

And we MUST counter effectively, an away goal for us and Bartha will need 3. That puts them right into the danger zone.

[Marvin123 484]

Drogs over Torres for me.

And we MUST counter effectively, an away goal for us and Bartha will need 3. That puts them right into the danger zone.

i agree! id love to start sturridge to counterwith his pace but worry about him defending as we need 9 defending and drog waitin for the ball just past halfway

[FansChelsea.com 10]

Hello, my friends!

[termninja 5,290]

Hello, my friends!

Welcome mate and enjoy your stay!

Wow that pass from Lamps really is something special.

[laeth 527]

Welcome mate and enjoy your stay!

Wow that pass from Lamps really is something special.

Was thinking the same thing!

[FansChelsea.com 10]

Was thinking the same thing!

Our veterans help us! Drogba and Lampard!

[tmessy 139]

Drogba and Torres need to play together for the second leg... We needed more speed... Drogba played great but on the fast break, his age showed

[Sheva. 5,373]

Drogba and Torres need to play together for the second leg... We needed more speed... Drogba played great but on the fast break, his age showed

Torres or Sturridge have to start alongside Drogba for the 2nd leg imo - in the position Mata occupied in the 1st leg.

[MagicManMata 24]

Considering the lineup and the game plan for the away leg, this is what i would propose.

From watching Barca throughout the season, they will be more than eager to try a three man defense leaving Alves to push up as a right mid, leaving Puyol to fill the space. Fact of the matter is, we will barley see any of the ball, but with this method, it gives us a more direct approach to the game which allows us to attack Barca on the counter. When Barca have the ball, as they will for the majority of the match, putting Torres up top leaving Drogba to drop and fill his defensive duties, while Torres attacks the defensive and midfield while they possess will benefit us the most. Out of my experience in watching Barca play, they are most afraid and look vulnerable when someone is attacking their defense when Puyol and Pique have the ball, that is where Torres comes in. With this method, it allows us to get involved with the play rather than sit back and watch Barca come at us similar to the first leg, which i can guarantee they will shove their foot down our throats if we don't have a man pressuring the defense, I.E Torres

The only problem with Torres playing this role is that, well...he's Torres.

Nando has had an awful season, and while he has picked it up in the last few matches, it hasn't been against upper tier teams.

If Torres wants to see anything more than pity minutes against Barca next week, he is going to have to step up against Barca-lite (Arsenal) this weekend, in a big way. I mean either a goal or an assist from Torres to show us that he means business, otherwise I would stick with the same line-up as the 1st leg (no Torres).