Barca’s Blue murder

SO, after the pain of Moscow last year, Chelsea decided to get their Champions League heartbreak out of the way early this time. The purists might have their dream final in Manchester United versus Barcelona but, unless you were Catalan, there was precious little romance about Chelsea’s exit last night.

A towering collective performance, capped by an outstanding Michael Essien goal, seemed to have given the Londoners one foot in Rome but, three minutes into injury time and with 10-man Barcelona having failed to trouble Petr Cech for most of the night, Andres Iniesta found the top corner with one last, despairing swing of the boot.

Not long after, Eto’o’s arm seemed to come in contact with the ball inside the area resulting in a Michael Ballack strop.

It was a moment which also led to something like ‘Moscow – The Sequel’ from Didier Drogba who, in a grandstanding display of petulance, came back out of the dug-out to angrily confront Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo before being dragged away as the afters turned ugly. Chelsea did their best to make the befores intimidating too, intensifying the bearpit atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge and snapping at Barca’s heels from the off. An early John Terry tackle on Lionel Messi was emblematic – a real ‘welcome to the Bridge’ job and, as a bonus, the ball almost broke kindly for Drogba

For their part, Barca were buzzing yellow and black hornets, Lionel Messi switching back and forth with Iniesta on the right, the Argentinian one moment a chalk-hugging winger, the next the spearhead of the attack.

But, spectacularly, it was Chelsea who made the breakthrough in only the ninth minute. The move began with Didier Drogba winning a towering header and when the ball arrived in front of Michael Essien – via Florent Malouda, Frank Lampard and inadvertently Yaya Toure – he caught it perfectly with his left foot to hit a thunderous shot from fully 25 yards over Victor Valdes and in off the underside of the bar.

As in Old Trafford the previous night, a goal had come inside the first 10 minutes – but this time it had the effect of supercharging the contest, rather than killing it off. If Barca were to come through, they would have to do it the hard way.

But still they struggled to do it their way. After 20 minutes, Dani Alves sent a Ronaldo-style free-kick dipping past the outside of Cech’s post but that was emblematic too. As in the Camp Nou, the visitors were enjoying plenty possession yet pretty much the closest they came to scoring in the first half was from a set-piece.

By contrast, Chelsea, playing intelligently on the break, might have wrapped things up even before the break. When Frank Lampard’s simple, lofted ball over top exposed Barca’s makeshift central defence, Drogba, foiled by Victor Valdes, should have scored. The big striker was then denied what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty after Eric Abidal brought him down as he again closed in on the Barca goal.

Lampard was spitting blood for the cause but Barca, as in the Nou Camp, again couldn’t find a cutting edge. Xavi prodded and probed as best he could from midfield but the blue wall proved impenetrable and when Messi did cut loose down the left, unforgivably for such a brimming talent, the simple basics of crossing repeatedly let him down.

Chelsea had enough chances to make the game comfortable while the visitors were yet to record a shot on target.

Then Valdes came to the rescue of his team again, denying Drogba from right in front of goal. The Chelsea striker, having been teed up by Nicolas Anelka, had left Gerard Pique sitting on his backside but his weak attempt at a finish didn’t match the build-up.

Then just short of 70 minutes came another blow for Barca as Eric Abidal was dismissed for what the Norwegian ref saw – hardly with 20-20 vision, it must be said – as a professional foul on Nicolas Anelka.

And Chelsea continued to resist the best the team of all the attacking talents could throw at them.

Which, in truth, was not much at all until that incredible bolt against the blue deep into time added on. And still there was time for Ballack to stake that last penalty claim after his shot came off Samuel Eto’o, the final straw that broke Chelsea’s back, sent Drogba over the edge and even turned Guus Hiddink into Mr Angry – the Chelsea boss allegedly telling a UEFA official that they obviously didn’t want two English clubs in the final again.

Well, they don’t have now, but even as we hope for the most from Barca versus Man United in Rome, it’s hard not to help seeing Chelsea as the victims of one of the cruellest of footballing smash and grab jobs.

Sub for Chelsea: Belletti for Drogba 72.

Subs for Barcelona: Bojan for Busquets 85, Sylvinho for Eto’o 90, Gudjohnsen for Iniesta 90.

Referee: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).