I figure I should start with one of the topics that I've encountered the most in my time as a football fan:
Chelsea and Barcelona
History
Chelsea and Barcelona seem to have created one of the stronger international rivalries in recent years, with the clubs facing each other 10 times since the 2004-05 season, and it has been reported that some Barcelona players dislike Chelsea more than they do Real Madrid. Few people know that the two clubs have actually faced each other 5 other teams before the José Mourinho era at Chelsea. The first was the Semi-final of the 1965-66 of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, the predecessor of today's Europa League. In that match-up both teams got 2-0 victories at their respective stadiums, before Barcelona smashed Chelsea 5-0 in the play-off.
They faced again in the 1999-00 Champions League Quarterfinals. Chelsea got a 3-1 lead at Stamford Bridge (Zola and Flo (twice) scored the goals for Chelsea, and Figo for Barcelona). At the Camp Nou, goals from Rivaldo and Figo gave Barça the edge before Flo scored his third goal in the tie to put Chelsea through. 7 minutes from time, Dani equalized the tie with a goal, sending the match to extra time. Rivaldo and Kluivert would both go on to score, allowing Barcelona to advance, although they would succumb to Valencia in the Semifinals.
But the real magic started in the 2004-05 season. Facing each other in the 1st knock-out round, Chelsea got a first-half lead the Camp Nou off a Belleti own-goal, stemming from a low cross from Didier Drogba. Drogba would see himself sent off for a 2nd yellow in the 56th minute, which allowed the tide to swing in Barça’s favour. Goals from Maxi Lopez and Eto’o put Barça ahead before the teams met at the Bridge.
The match started well for Chelsea, with Lampard taking advantage of a slip from Xavi to dispossess him and play a through-ball out wide to Kezman, who put in a low cross for Gudjhonsen. The Iceland man would turn Marquez out with his first touch before slamming the ball home. Chelsea would follow this up with Joe Cole cutting inside and shooting with his left-foot. The ball would hit a Barcelona defender and confuse Valdes, who managed to parry the ball but only far enough for Lampard to nick in before anyone else and tuck it inside. Damien Duff would add a 3rd after a quick Chelsea break-away saw Lampard put him through for an easy finish. Ronaldinho would give Barça hope with a well-taken penalty after Ferreira handled the ball. Ronaldinho would later also score one of his most magical goals, feinting a pass on the edge of the box before shooting from a standing position and placing the ball into the bottom corner. At 3-2, Barça were through. But it didn’t end that way, with John Terry heading a corner into the far corner of the net, and putting Chelsea through after half an hour of trying, and 15 minutes from time.
The following year the two teams faced off again at the same stage, only this time Barcelona would emerge victorious (and win the competition altogether). For the 2nd time running Chelsea would play with 10 man for most of the 1st leg, with Del Horno seeing red in the first half. A Thiago Motta own goal seemed to give Chelsea and edge before Terry returned the favour with an OG of his own, and Eto’o would score another with 10 minutes to go. In the 2nd leg, both teams were more cautious, with Ronaldinho scoring the breakthrough in the 78th minute, before Lampard score a consolation penalty in injury time.
The following year the two giants would face again, this time at the Group Stage. A Drogba goal would prove the only goal in the first match in London. At the Camp Nou, Deco would draw first blood in the 3rd minute, scoring against his future club. Lampard would put the visitors ahead with a lovely chip from a tough angle in the 2nd half, only for Gudjohnsen to score 6 minutes later against his former club. The match was scrappier, and Barcelona looked set to get the victory only for Drogba to score 3 minutes into injury team, and give Chelsea the edge in this years’ match-up between the two.
The two teams would not face each other until the well-known semifinal of 2008-09. The first match at the Camp Nou would end goalless after some resolute defending from Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, less than 10 minutes into the match, this happened:
But unfortunately, 3 minutes into injury time, this also happened:
The match would signify a low point for Chelsea, with many believing the poor officiating from Ovrebo to have handed Barcelona the victory. Here is a video showing most of the moments Chelsea would feel robbed for, you can make up your own mind:
This would leave a bad taste in Chelsea’s mouth for years to come, making Barcelona their most hated international rival. And 3 years later, they would get their revenge. The two sides would face in the Semifinals last year, with Barcelona seen as overwhelming favorites. Chelsea were having a tumultuous season, with another midseason change of manager, and poor performances in the league and in Europe. Chelsea would again get the first goal, with Drogba scoring on the brink of half-time in the 1st leg after Lampard spotted Ramires speeding through on the left, who proceeded to cross the ball through 4 Barcelona defenders for Drogba to score. The match at the Bridge ended 1-0.
In the 2nd leg, Chelsea would see Gary Cahill go off injured in the 12th minute, forcing Di Matteo to push Ivanovic inside and play Bosingwa, often seen as a liability in defense, on the right for most of the match. In the 35th minute, Barcelona would equalize the tie with Sergio Busquets tapping it in from close range. Only two minutes later John Terry would see himself sent off soon after with a foolish knee to Alexis’ back, forcing RDM to play Ramires at right-back, with Bosingwa moving inside. Things would get worse for Chelsea moments later when Iniesta scored to put Barcelona ahead in the tie. Chelsea were a man down and without their 3 first choice CBs, playing away from home. Things looked bleak. But then this happened:
And Chelsea had hope again. Barcelona had 45 minutes to score a goal, and soon after the restart, it looked like they would get it. Drogba, playing excellently throughout the tie, caught Fabregas inside the box, forcing the referee to call for a penalty. It was Messi against Cech, but the bar would emerge victorious, with Messi hitting it too hard and hitting the crossbar. With the match nearing its completion, and Chelsea hanging on by a thread, a longball from defense saw Torres 1-vs-1 with Valdes, where he proceeded to round the keeper, and unlike a similar opportunity against Manchester United earlier in the season, he tucked it in, ending the match 2-2, 3-2 on aggregate for Chelsea.
The final tally in these matchups reads as:
__________W D L GF GA GD
Chelsea____ 4 4 5 18 23 -8
Barcelona__ 5 4 4 23 18 +8
With the overall head-to-head (1 point for whoever advances or finishes above the other) at: 3-4 for Barcelona
And if we're only considering matches in the Abramovich era:
__________W D L GF GA GD
Chelsea____ 3 5 2 14 11 +3
Barcelona__ 2 5 3 11 14 -3
With the overall head-to-head standing at 3-2 for Chelsea.
Next time I'll try to get into differences in tactics and style.
Other entries:
24/10 - Marouane Fellaini
28/10 - Chelsea - ManU Preview
16/01 - Luke Shaw, Chelsea Fan
Chelsea and Barcelona
History
They faced again in the 1999-00 Champions League Quarterfinals. Chelsea got a 3-1 lead at Stamford Bridge (Zola and Flo (twice) scored the goals for Chelsea, and Figo for Barcelona). At the Camp Nou, goals from Rivaldo and Figo gave Barça the edge before Flo scored his third goal in the tie to put Chelsea through. 7 minutes from time, Dani equalized the tie with a goal, sending the match to extra time. Rivaldo and Kluivert would both go on to score, allowing Barcelona to advance, although they would succumb to Valencia in the Semifinals.
But the real magic started in the 2004-05 season. Facing each other in the 1st knock-out round, Chelsea got a first-half lead the Camp Nou off a Belleti own-goal, stemming from a low cross from Didier Drogba. Drogba would see himself sent off for a 2nd yellow in the 56th minute, which allowed the tide to swing in Barça’s favour. Goals from Maxi Lopez and Eto’o put Barça ahead before the teams met at the Bridge.
The match started well for Chelsea, with Lampard taking advantage of a slip from Xavi to dispossess him and play a through-ball out wide to Kezman, who put in a low cross for Gudjhonsen. The Iceland man would turn Marquez out with his first touch before slamming the ball home. Chelsea would follow this up with Joe Cole cutting inside and shooting with his left-foot. The ball would hit a Barcelona defender and confuse Valdes, who managed to parry the ball but only far enough for Lampard to nick in before anyone else and tuck it inside. Damien Duff would add a 3rd after a quick Chelsea break-away saw Lampard put him through for an easy finish. Ronaldinho would give Barça hope with a well-taken penalty after Ferreira handled the ball. Ronaldinho would later also score one of his most magical goals, feinting a pass on the edge of the box before shooting from a standing position and placing the ball into the bottom corner. At 3-2, Barça were through. But it didn’t end that way, with John Terry heading a corner into the far corner of the net, and putting Chelsea through after half an hour of trying, and 15 minutes from time.
The following year the two teams faced off again at the same stage, only this time Barcelona would emerge victorious (and win the competition altogether). For the 2nd time running Chelsea would play with 10 man for most of the 1st leg, with Del Horno seeing red in the first half. A Thiago Motta own goal seemed to give Chelsea and edge before Terry returned the favour with an OG of his own, and Eto’o would score another with 10 minutes to go. In the 2nd leg, both teams were more cautious, with Ronaldinho scoring the breakthrough in the 78th minute, before Lampard score a consolation penalty in injury time.
The following year the two giants would face again, this time at the Group Stage. A Drogba goal would prove the only goal in the first match in London. At the Camp Nou, Deco would draw first blood in the 3rd minute, scoring against his future club. Lampard would put the visitors ahead with a lovely chip from a tough angle in the 2nd half, only for Gudjohnsen to score 6 minutes later against his former club. The match was scrappier, and Barcelona looked set to get the victory only for Drogba to score 3 minutes into injury team, and give Chelsea the edge in this years’ match-up between the two.
The two teams would not face each other until the well-known semifinal of 2008-09. The first match at the Camp Nou would end goalless after some resolute defending from Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, less than 10 minutes into the match, this happened:
But unfortunately, 3 minutes into injury time, this also happened:
This would leave a bad taste in Chelsea’s mouth for years to come, making Barcelona their most hated international rival. And 3 years later, they would get their revenge. The two sides would face in the Semifinals last year, with Barcelona seen as overwhelming favorites. Chelsea were having a tumultuous season, with another midseason change of manager, and poor performances in the league and in Europe. Chelsea would again get the first goal, with Drogba scoring on the brink of half-time in the 1st leg after Lampard spotted Ramires speeding through on the left, who proceeded to cross the ball through 4 Barcelona defenders for Drogba to score. The match at the Bridge ended 1-0.
In the 2nd leg, Chelsea would see Gary Cahill go off injured in the 12th minute, forcing Di Matteo to push Ivanovic inside and play Bosingwa, often seen as a liability in defense, on the right for most of the match. In the 35th minute, Barcelona would equalize the tie with Sergio Busquets tapping it in from close range. Only two minutes later John Terry would see himself sent off soon after with a foolish knee to Alexis’ back, forcing RDM to play Ramires at right-back, with Bosingwa moving inside. Things would get worse for Chelsea moments later when Iniesta scored to put Barcelona ahead in the tie. Chelsea were a man down and without their 3 first choice CBs, playing away from home. Things looked bleak. But then this happened:
And Chelsea had hope again. Barcelona had 45 minutes to score a goal, and soon after the restart, it looked like they would get it. Drogba, playing excellently throughout the tie, caught Fabregas inside the box, forcing the referee to call for a penalty. It was Messi against Cech, but the bar would emerge victorious, with Messi hitting it too hard and hitting the crossbar. With the match nearing its completion, and Chelsea hanging on by a thread, a longball from defense saw Torres 1-vs-1 with Valdes, where he proceeded to round the keeper, and unlike a similar opportunity against Manchester United earlier in the season, he tucked it in, ending the match 2-2, 3-2 on aggregate for Chelsea.
The final tally in these matchups reads as:
__________W D L GF GA GD
Chelsea____ 4 4 5 18 23 -8
Barcelona__ 5 4 4 23 18 +8
With the overall head-to-head (1 point for whoever advances or finishes above the other) at: 3-4 for Barcelona
And if we're only considering matches in the Abramovich era:
__________W D L GF GA GD
Chelsea____ 3 5 2 14 11 +3
Barcelona__ 2 5 3 11 14 -3
With the overall head-to-head standing at 3-2 for Chelsea.
Next time I'll try to get into differences in tactics and style.
Other entries:
24/10 - Marouane Fellaini
28/10 - Chelsea - ManU Preview
16/01 - Luke Shaw, Chelsea Fan
