Closed Chelsea 1 - 0 Barcelona

[Steve 10,227]

Hey Steve

Any chance i can use one of these as a new Avatar ?

Go for it!

[Milan 17,957]

Another encouraging stats - we have managed to score in every away game in this Champions League season so far.

[Jase 43,479]

Another encouraging stats - we have managed to score in every away game in this Champions League season so far.

IF you want more encouraging stats:

1. Chelsea have scored first in all 11 of their Champions League games this season.

2. Chelsea have opened the scoring first in 12 of 13 matches under RDM. The other was a 0-0 draw against Spurs at SB.

3. Barcelona have conceded in all Champions League home games this season except against Bate Borisov & Viktoria Plzen. Milan scored 3 in 2 matches against them at the Camp Nou while even Leverkusen got one there.

[Jase 43,479]

Just checked the UEFA site. Seems that after picking up a yellow card on Wednesday, Ramires is one away from a UCL suspension. Not good.

[Strike 7,489]

Just checked the UEFA site. Seems that after picking up a yellow card on Wednesday, Ramires is one away from a UCL suspension. Not good.

Drogba as welll

[Jase 43,479]

Drogba as welll

Nah. He is fine. That was his 1st yellow of the competition this season. Luiz(out injured anyway), Ivanovic, Meireles, Cole & Ramires are the ones 1 YC away from a UCL suspension.

[capriccioso 2,545]

They have a piss poor defence these days what with injury taking its toll and all. We should score 1, then we have that vital 2 goal buffer to shut them out a la Inter 2010.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

They have a piss poor defence these days what with injury taking its toll and all. We should score 1, then we have that vital 2 goal buffer to shut them out a la Inter 2010.

Yep. We need a goal at the Nou Camp if we are any hope of going through

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Chelsea “studied Milan” in order to beat Barca

ROBERTO DI MATTEO explains Chelsea have managed to beat Barcelona by looking at Milan.

Chelsea surprised the world last night after beating FC Barcelona with a great defensive display (or an example of anti-football – depends which side you support), taking the advantage in the UCL semi-finals.

The Blues performance was similar to what Milan did against Barcelona in the previous round, but the difference is Didier Drogba’s goal from a counter-attack. Chelsea admit they learned from Milan.

“Our preparations for the game against Barça were based on the tactical approach that Milan used when they played versus Barça,” Chelsea’s Swiss-born Italian boss Roberto Di Matteo said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. “By studying how Milan played against Barça, we were able to stop them last night.”

Chelsea vice-captain Frank Lampard said: “We watched the 2 matches that Milan played against Barçelona, and then we understood what we had to do against them. The second leg will be a great one.”

Milan’s brilliant home display (defensively) was not enough as they conceded three goals at the Camp Nou Stadium also due to a poor refereeing. The second leg will be played in Spain next Tuesday.

I assume they'd do this anyway? In any case, well done to Di Matteo for setting up in a more effective way.

[Jase 43,479]

They have a piss poor defence these days what with injury taking its toll and all. We should score 1, then we have that vital 2 goal buffer to shut them out a la Inter 2010.

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.

[Strike 7,489]

They have a piss poor defence these days what with injury taking its toll and all. We should score 1, then we have that vital 2 goal buffer to shut them out a la Inter 2010.

we wont score with torres, mate

drogba has to start. even an 80% fit drogba

[Jase 43,479]

I assume they'd do this anyway? In any case, well done to Di Matteo for setting up in a more effective way.

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.

[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 7,489]

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