Iniesta Secures a Victory for Pretty Football

I can guarantee we won't - I will either be insanely drunk in celebration or morbidly depressed! Enjoy the game.

Simon: The grandiloquent comment was not hypocritical, it was intentional, with a hint of sarcasm. Anyways, I dont want to argue further. I'm sure we'll meet again after the final and discuss the result.

I just find this concept of "support epl" so ridiculous. Again where on earth have you got that from? I support Man United. I dislike most of the other teams. For instance I really despise Liverpool.

No you weren't referring to my words but you were attempting to align me with people who have said those words.

No I'm 23. Next.

Well how do you define weak teams then? Define weak teams, then count the goals and let's see the ratio of how many he scored against "weak" teams.

simon you're sounding like a stuck record now i admitted before that I wasn't referring to your words in stating "defensive masterclass". What are you a feeble minded 80 year old? I said half CR's goals,not half the teams are weak now you want to put words in my mouth,and telling me about logic. Then again you're from the UK and support epl.........

Someone else pointed out in an earlier post how limited Barcelona are when it comes to set pieces and corners. how true that is.

Simon - I'm not sure if I'd agree that shots on target are a fair indicator of who 'should' win a match, but it's true that Chelsea created more opportunities on goal in the second leg (in the first Barcelona had 6 to Chelsea's 1). Another thing Barcelona (and Chelsea, for that matter) could be faulted with in this tie was poor finishing. Of the 33 shots Barcelona took (aggregate) only 7 were on target. If they are too pose a challenge in the final, even if United allow it to become an open game, they'll have to improve that average.

"Also, trying to use grandiloquent vocabulary to impress and insulting people at random doesn’t help you state you case" - was a more hypocritic sentence ever written?

I make no attempt to defend the diving or cynical fouls of Chelsea. I also make absolutely no attempt to defend their atrocious behaviour after the match, although I fully understand why it occured.

Fouls are fouls, fine. But forcing a player off the ball legitimately as Chelsea often did is football and part of the game.

I actually agree with mostly everything else you said, Hawk. Except I think Man Utd will play some defensive oriented tactics. Expect them to put Park and Evra on Messi, but otherwise I think United should and will have the confidence to take Barca on. I back Rooney/Ronaldo/Tevez (please not Berbatov) against Messi/Eto'o/Henry as a United fan, given the defenses each trio will be up against. Let's not forget as well that Chelsea's tactics for the majority of the game were quite rightly dictated by the fact they were ahead.

Sergio - if I was Simon Cowell I would have more important things to do than argue with people online over a football match!

Don't accuse me of saying "defensive masterclass" when I haven't, nor try to align me with those who have, I'm my own voice and would hate to be aligned with such terrible pundits as David Pleat etc. Call United whatever you want - I am happy to go by the same rule and call them champions of england, europe and the world.

"The same 4 teams dominating for more than 5 years aint saying great defences for the entire league especially what you refer to are goals.More to this game than just goals son."

How does 4 teams dominating say anything about the defences, specifically, of the teams in the league?! Um, let me have a comeback: "just because only 3 teams have won la liga this decade the physios of the other teams are rubbish". Ha!

"Half of CR’s goals came against weak epl teams last season." Define weak teams! If you say half the teams are weak and the other half strong, then yes, half the goals, probably more, will be against weak teams! Do you know of the concept of logic...?

"btw, why so upset when the team you support won the semis and haven’t played the final yet.don’t get a heart attack if your beloved loses the final." Listen, I've seen many things in the post and thread above I disagree with and when I feel people are getting the wrong idea about something I enjoy a discussion to put my points across and set the record straight. To be entirely honest, the result last night delights me. I'd rather play a 1st team full-back-less Barca than an emotional driven encounter with Chelsea: Chelsea v United II: this time it's Personal etc.


john - Chelsea's was a deep line but my point is they certainly kept an eye out for attacking opportunities. Of which they had more than Chelsea. When I look at who should win a game, in my opinion the most revealing stat is shots on target. No prizes for guessing who won that last night.

Yes Barca were only left with what they did. My argument is they made a complete pig's ear of it showing there's only one side to them as a team, which if you close off, they struggle. I don't want to raise the stakes for me further by putting money on it, but betfair currently quoting 2.3 for united - it's hard not to bet on those odds.

Simon - I think you made some really good points, especially about the defensive positioning of EPL teams V. La Liga teams (deep back line - high back line). You must admit, though, Chelsea's was not merely a deep back line, but an 8 man (at the very least) deep back line.

Barcelona's display on the night was certainly not pretty, and their typical tiki-taka style of play was largely stymied by Chelsea's well staffed and well talented defensive formation. But just as the arguments for Chelsea's defensive tactics go - against a team like Barcelona, it'd be suicide not to - surely you can make a similar argument in defense of Barcelona: Against an 8-10 man back line, pretty football becomes impractical, winning becomes more important, and crosses (as poor as Alves' were) horizontal passing and cracks from outside the area are all a team's left with.

The reffing was, we all agree, wretched. The Pique hand ball was a clear penalty. The Abidal Red was not a Red. The decision to give a free-kick outside of the box for the Malouda/Avles foul/non-foul showed what complete lack of competence the ref had to draw from. But as the saying goes: "The ref's decision is final." Play with what you're given. Barcelona's in the final now and that won't change.

I would put my money on United for the final - I'd say that without Marquez, Abidal and Alves Man Utd (who are every bit as impressive as their record, both EPL and CL, indicate) will have little problem finding goals. Hope it'll be a good match.

are you by chance simon of american idol because your attitude seems to come across as being like his. I know you never said "defensive masterclass" is what your pundits refer to manyoo doing last yearand even Chelsea. Save your anger and I presume your tears for when manyoo (manure seems too offensive to you) lose. to each his own,finding la liga boring, either english is your only language and/or you dislike competitive games. "THAT is what makes the EPL so good - goals scored against great defences." The same 4 teams dominating for more than 5 years aint saying great defences for the entire league especially what you refer to are goals.More to this game than just goals son. Half of CR's goals came against weak epl teams last season. btw, why so upset when the team you support won the semis and haven't played the final yet.don't get a heart attack if your beloved loses the final.

Also, trying to use grandiloquent vocabulary to impress and insulting people at random doesn't help you state you case. We (or at least I) am trying to engage in a calm conversation (or argument, whichever you want). We don't need to insult each other at all.

Simon are you seriously defending the diving and fouling that Chelsea were doing during these 2 legs? I know its a contact sport and contact is allowed but things such as a slap in the face (Ballack) and kicking a guy in the back (Bosingwa vs Juve) are not considered legitimate contact. Ballack yelling his lungs out at the ref AFTER they lost and Drogba chasing the ref and yelling at him is not part of the game either and it is a disgrace. I shall admit that Chelsea did outplay Barca yesterday with their superb defensive play but everyone knows that all that can be undone with one perhaps lucky strike as Kxevin pointed out. And another thing, I seriously doubt that Man Unt will play as Chelsea did yesterday in the final. They dont have 2 legs, there are no away goals. I'm betting that they are undone by one great piercing penetrating Xavi pass. We'll soon see.

Nabeel - wow where on earth did you get the number 5 from? Please tell me how I implied that so I never make such a mistake again! Crumbs squire!

I think that on average, 4 strong big defenders make a better defence tan 4 small, weak defenders. Of bloody course! Unless they are named Titus Bramble.

Neither did I say that only EPL has great defences. Please please tell me, where did I say that? How have you come to the conclusion that that is my opinion? Incredulous! I happen to believe that Serie A sides have fantastic defences, for instance.

Please read posts before replying kthnx.

Everybody should calm down. Chelsea played us off the pitch yesterday. Essien was full-on man, and showed why many consider him the best box-to-box midfielder in the world today. Hell of a strike.

We weren't anything vaguely approximating pretty yesterday, thanks to Hiddink's defensive discipline and the players who executed it. Of course they're going to foul Iniesta, Xavi and Messi every chance they got. I would too if I were coaching against Barca. They won't call all of them, right?

I wouldn't say it was a "victory for pretty football," as much as a victory for playing football. Had Chelsea taken their man advantage and gone for the jugular, I think they would be booking flights to Rome right now, instead of crying foul. But they didn't. They left 10 men behind the ball and kicked it as hard as they could whenever it got past the midfield line. One lucky play, and that all comes undone.

Which is what happened.

Chelsea showed how to defend Messi. Granted, Eto'o helped by being shit. Henry's presence makes that a very different game. He wasn't there, but we squeaked one out.

It isn't "good vs evil," the ref wasn't bought, Barca doesn't own UEFA. When we Barca fans were saying that Henry should have earned a penalty for being hauled down in the box (a far more blatant foul than anything that occurred yesterday), we were told to man up and play football. I won't say that. I'll just say that referees are part of the game, and sometimes an unfortunate part.

Interesting piece over at Goal.com:

http://goal.com/en/news/1717/e...

Simon,what you're saying implies that your idea of a great defense is 5 tall strong defenders who muscle players off the ball. so you think only the EPL features great defense? Says a lot about your understanding of the game.

"If Barcelona’s play is so beautiful and fluid, they should be able to pass the ball through a deep Chelsea or Man Utd back line. In their last 4 semi final games, they have never done this." - they can pass the ball through a back line of four or even five. but not 9. no one in the world can do that. watch that cambiasso goal again sir,i didn't see 4 defenders in the box at that time!

1. Football IS A PHYSICAL SPORT FACT. BODILY CONTACT IS PERMITTED. LOOK AT THE RULES YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT.

2. I stated I have watched many Barca games this year. READ A POST PROPERLY BEFORE YOU RESPOND TO IT. Barca in la liga are very different from Barca in CL against an English side.

3. Very very funny, manure, well done, very good. I run a comedy club, can I employ you please?

4. Lack quality defenders? Right ok. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Rafael, Evans... what's Barca's defence going to be like in the final? No Abidal/Marquez/Alves, it's going to be pretty poor.

5. I have never said "defensive masterclass". Next.

6. There's a huge difference between, say, what Rangers did last year in the UEFA Cup - no attempts to attack other than at set pieces - than what Chelsea did last night, creating multiple chances in the form of counter attacks.

7. I don't hate Barcelona. Not at all. I merely find them overrated. I maybe strongly dislike Real Madrid. Hate is a silly word. It implies a lack of understanding and capabilities of empathy.

8. I find la liga awful to watch because the defending is so bad. It's like the MLS. Watching goals scored against poor defence is not fun. THAT is what makes the EPL so good - goals scored against great defences.

WOW!!!!!! an epl fan calling Barca unimaginative, boring, predictable and ineffective. sure you're not talking about the regular epl match and that team you support MANURE? Manure have yet to play quality opposition in the form of Barca especially a team like Manure's whose defense lacks any defender who can singly mark off any truly skilled attacker and must double up.
Lasttime I checked a sub standard Barca last year was the much better looking team against an nimaginative, boring, predictable and ineffective manure who ppl like you and your dumbass pundits called their play "defensive masterclass" but if another league's team did it, BORING. Manure ain't thrashing nobody. Just a Barca hater and someone that will never credit when its due. Go watch some Barca games then open your mouth.Football is not a physical game unless you are talking about american football but a
game of skill/talent unlike the drivel you watch in the epl.

Hawk, you're clearly an idiot. Just because I've only cited two Barcelona games (actually 3, try again) how on earth have you come to the conclusion that that's all I've seen? Cretinous!

I actually have seen them play at least 10 times this season which is more than enough to know how they play. I'm not quite sure where you're getting the impression that Chelsea fouled Barca all night and got away with it. Are there any incidents in particular you have in mind?

Would you like to play a game of "you name the Chelsea foul on Barca that wasn't given and I name the Chelsea penalty that wasn't given?" and see who runs out first?

Football, chap, is a PHYSICAL game. If Barca don't want to be challenged by big physical players they should go and play futsal. But your are allowed bodily contact in football so no-one has any grounds to complain about the size of players at all. I'm not sure where you're going with them using their strength to be honest. It's an attribute that every player needs to some degree.

Barca's beautful flowing play? Again, passing the ball back and forth across the back four and occasionally in to Xavi/Iniesta is not beautiful play. Here is my key, key point:

If Barcelona's play is so beautiful and fluid, they should be able to pass the ball through a deep Chelsea or Man Utd back line. In their last 4 semi final games, they have never done this.

Compared to the Argentina team of the last World Cup, Barcelona have nothing. That Cambiasso goal is how to play beautiful flowing football that is effective.

Barca's is flowing, I'll give you that. They know how to keep the ball. However, it's unimaginative, boring, predictable and ineffective WHEN the opposition (sensibly) play a back line.

In football it's not good enough to say, "we're going to keep the ball so even if the opposition play a deep line and we don't win because we're not good enough to pass it through them, it's not our fault because we were playing football properly and beautiful". That's crap. And I won't have any of it when United give them a good thrashing in the final.

Simon, apparently you have only seen Barca play twice and both against a cowardly and violent Chelsea team who parked the bus and "mistook" Messi's, Iniesta's and Xavi's legs as the ball, hence the constant kicking and fouling. Yes Dani Alves was off today as he has been in a few other games but have you seen him when he isnt off? Until you do see him, dont talk. Also, its a bit hard to play real football when huge guys are hitting you constantly from all sides. Ballack, Drogba, Terry, Alex, Bosingwa (not that big but violent. See Chelsea vs Juve) are strong big guys who only used their strength and the ref's incompetence to repeatedly foul and to stop Barca's beautiful flowing play. Not to mention, everyone other then Drogba was huddled in or around the box, at their home turf. They are a world class team and yet they resort to such tactics? And what about the yelling and whining at the end? Disgraceful. Barca deserved to go through, if not for their play but for Chelsea's lack of it.

fixed and you know it.

Barca Barca, Platini's bum boys!

I would love someone to explain to me how Barca played pretty football. They were absolutely imaginative.

Many teams have broken down Chelsea this season. Barca are not among them. Pathetic.

I look forward to United trouncing a distinctly average team in the final.

Daryl, where's the poll?

I'm not going to argue with anyone, and I'm gonna try not to offend anyone.

Yes, Chelsea were hard done by with their penalty appeals, but seriously, they werent all 'stone-wall'. Drogba went down easily when he MUST have had a better chance of scoring staying on his feet. Both handballs were ball-to-hand, with the ball being hit hard and fast. And are you not ashamed with the amount of diving that was going on? I was listening to the (obviously bias towards chelsea) on BBC radio, and the amount of times they mentioned simulation by anelka and drogba in and around in the box, it was a surprise yellow cards werent given for simulation.

And then of course, there is the fact that a lot of people have mentioned, Abidal getting sent off after Anelka trips himself up. You talk about injustice Chelsea fans. A top left back has to miss a Champions League Final, because anelka cant run properly, thats injustice.

And as for barca fans and anyone else talking about 'justice for pretty football', you are deluded. No great teams play with just a Plan A. Chelsea have played some great football at times this year, so don't judge their football on these two games. Chelsea chose their tactics in an attempt to reach the final, and credit to them, they were a couple minutes away from succeeding.

The truth is, barcelona tried to break chelsea down at home, and couldnt. If people say 'parking the bus' isnt football, they are stupid. It is football, not entertaining, but it is football. It happens so often in the premier league, and teams like chelsea, united, liverpool and arsenal have HAD to change their tactics in order to break the other teams down.

I think I'll stop, so thanks for reading.

And the conduct of Chelsea players was ugly after the game .They can b staring down the uefa shotgun.

Chelsea were a little unlucky , but blowing chances just because u have a one goal lead doesn't count for luck.
Barca kept attacking like a principled team ,OK not their best performance , but prevalence bore fruit as Chelsea became complacent.Sorry but Barca deserved it !

Iniesta beat these fuckers nice and good!

Look I'm decidedly a neutral in this, but for all the people who are bringing up Abidal's red to counter the penalty claims, answer this please:

Pique even admitted he handled the ball in the area. Would Barca trade the sending off of a defender for a non-given penalty? I should say absolutely. Especially since at that point in the game (the red) Barca needed to throw caution to the winds anyways. The red didn't really hurt them, but the loss of a valid peno helped Chelsea choke away the game. Not saying it was the whole game, but it was important.

By the way, most of the other appeals for penalties I thought were iffy at best. Malouda seemed to be initially fouled outside the box, and the last minute volley by Ballack seemed to strike more shoulder than anything, definitely not a peno.

All of this is crazy, but the real underlying story is that Barca are now ill-equipped to take on ManU with an even more makeshift back line. 3-1 ManU is my guess.

for all the Barca haters, chelsea are pu**y of a team to be playing like this. This is not a plan, this is pu**y play tactics. Defending with 9 players, while drogba is upfront trying to catch a long ball, every one can play that game. U know why barca was a better team?
1 - they attacked with every spirit till the end,
2 - their midfield was tight, they closed down all of chelsea's plays on ground. tell me how many times was chelsea able to make 3 passes in the midfield?
3- they defended well, it is not easy to defend up front when ur competition is shooting long ball cannons at u all day long?
4- they didnt sub until the last 10 mins and that also to reinforce their attack!

All these point showed that they played "football" not only football, but a the way real football should be played! and becuase of that and despite of all the chances chelsea got, the Football Gods showerd their blessings on the real team!

Now MAN U and BARCA will be a real treat!

It looks like Barca were too much for England's Petro Bitches!

chelsea blew the game...what happened when drogba choked right infront of valdez??? there was plenty of chances for chelsea to score at least one more...and they blew it...that red card for barca wasnt even a foul...he tripped...plus after blowing the red card the ref wasnt gonna give chelsea another freebie...and drogba is just mad that he was taken out and they tied and eventually lost...i mean its a hard pill to swollow but this is why futbol is so great...

It seems this match has been controversial. Who would have thought?

handy preview except for the fact that the final is not two-legged

If you want a preview of this match, take a look at last year's semifinal. United parking the bus over two legs, and getting a lucky goal and a 1-0 aggregate. "Beautiful Football" for sure.

Simon - If the ref wanted a Barca victory, why exactly did he send Eric Abidal off for watching Anelka fall over his own feet?

Barca deserved to go on, and now the final should be alot better.

No chubby, Real Madrid just can't defend to save their lives. What they, and every other Spanish side do is play a really high back line. This means that Barca can break through with pace and score at will. You know, EXACTLY the same as Liverpool did twice earlier in the season. What makes Barca's attack any better than Liverpool's if we're going to go by what Real Madrid do?

So all English sides do - it's what Chelsea did tonight and what United will do in Rome - is play a very deep back line. Messi/Eto'o/Henry can't break through and suddenly Barca have absolutely no way of breaking through the back line.

So they resort to crosses. Would you back Barca's frontline in the air against the defence of either Chelsea or United? No. Especially when the quality of ball into the box was as terrible as it was tonight from Dani Alves. And that's not getting any better for the final with both of Barca's full backs suspended.

Handballs 50/50?!!! Are you joking?!

I agree with you about Drogba and Terry. Terry even had the nerve to complain about another team doing that earlier in the season. Prat. I'm ashamed he's captain of my country.

However Messi will be a factor in the final if he's up against Evra. Evra dives in early exactly like Spanish defenders. Again, if you actually watched football, which I'm not sure you do, then you might have seen the Carling Cup final. If you didn't, find some highlights and watch Lennon skin Evra again, and again, and again.

Now, I don't think Messi is the world's best player, but I do think Lennon is one of the world's worst. Messi therefore will have a field day on Evra in the final IF the midfield can get him ball and IF he's up against him. And if Park is not playing in front of Evra to double mark him.

One final comment to Daryl: please please read what you are typing. Normally I agree with your posts. Couldn't disagree with this comment more though:

"Two English teams in the final? No thank you."

I challenge you to start a poll on the Offside's mainpage as to what is the most entertaining game of CL football this season. You will find in first place, Liverpool 4-4 Chelsea and in second, Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool. And in third you might just get Man Utd 2-2 Porto.

Simon, I know one team that thought just like you did: Real Madrid. I wouldn't jump to conclusions. I am glad that Barcelona ousted Chelsea; ChelseaFC reminded me of out of ass Hiddink's teams on every WC, a lot of fight and no essence, when playing really talented teams.
Ref was an ass, although calling these handballs would have been a 50/50 decision. Abidal got red for nothing. This is fucking disgrace, Mr. Drogba. Drogba's constant diving came to bite him in the ass in the wrongest moment. Ooooops.
Agree about Terry, someone should hold his balls and give 'em a good squeeze while explaining him his role as a captain.
Messi was nowhere to be seen, piss poor performance. Just hope he will get his shit together for a final. Not that playing against Evra will be easier, :)

I don't mean to involve myself in the above discussion, by the way, as that's already getting out of hand. I just have serious, serious issues with this headline:

"Iniesta Secures a Victory for Pretty Football"

1. Clearly not a victory, they qualified, but not a victory
2. There was nothing pretty about that at all.

Anyone else think these fixtures were fixed? UEFA want a Barca victory. There wasn't much the ref could do yesterday about United winning, he took his one chance to send a united player off for the best tackle I've ever seen though.

And this ref could not have done more today to ensure a Barca victory. That was the worst refereed game I've ever ever seen. I would have given Chelsea 3 penalties at least.

No doubt you have.

"it’s a telling move trying to discredit me/insult me instead of using reason."

Ironic. Would that be the same reason and lack of vapidity you used in your first response to my post?

Enough. Call me what you like. I've said what I wanted to. Chelsea were unlucky not to go through, but I'm slightly glad since I think Barca will be a, still tough, but easier game. Good luck to them, and here's hoping for a decent game.

As a United fan, I'm glad to be playing Barca. They're crap.

And anyone who says this is "a victory for pretty football" is talking absolute, pure turd. How is passing the ball across the back four and xavi/iniesta for 10 minutes, then giving it to alves who does a hopeless cross pretty football? That's as ugly as it gets.

65% possession. 85% pass success rate. 0% entertainment for the neutral, 0% displayed attacking flair, 0% "best player in the world" (it was 100% last night for the last 2 goals, by the way), 1 shot on target, 1 bloody flukey team.

Who I'm glad to be playing in the final rather than "Utd vs Chelsea II: This time it's personal"

"so don’t start just because I’m a Utd fan."

I didn't start anything. I don't know you/I don't care about you. The fact that you are a ManU supporter is new information, not that I am surprised. I made a fun observation. You started on me with the "morality".

"mafiosa Ultras"

This is just too funny a term. I think that I am going to use it later this week, if you don't mind.

By the way, for a country riddled with "firms" who are much more secretive than the "mafiosa Ultras"... this is just hypocrisy.

"“Trouble” is a two way thing. You’ve probably never been anywhere near a football game if you don’t know that."

I have been to several. I have learned that those who go looking for trouble, find it. Those who go looking to enjoy a game, find that too. By the way, it's a telling move trying to discredit me/insult me instead of using reason.

"don’t forget stabbing people."

I haven't. Idiots live everywhere and I am thankful that those who cheer with me don't do things like this.

On the other hand, making 50 people go to the doctor for a punctured butt and rioting/killing so many times as to make the name synonymous with the deed... to make yourselves feared as spectators wherever you go... you really see those two things as equals?

I have found this conversation... insightful...

Dhaw - probably. But then, based on Porto's piss-poor performance at home, did they deserve it?

MAD - don't forget stabbing people. Just who are "your" people? Those knife wielding mafiosa Ultras? "Trouble" is a two way thing. You've probably never been anywhere near a football game if you don't know that. Italian football has nothing to be proud of right now, so don't start just because I'm a Utd fan.

when it comes down to it, who wanted to see a REPEAT of last year's final anyways? ...well, with the exception of chelsea fans hahahhahaha

"MAD: disgusting thing to say. I hope you’re proud of yourself."

You whats even more disgusting? Killing people, hurting people and rioting because of a football game.

I am actually really proud. Me and mine don't have a reputation for killing or hurting people or starting riots at football games because we haven't ever. I am proud of that.

And those who do start trouble? I like to see them get some back. That's the only reason I'm going to be watching the final.

I feel for Chelsea though.
If my team was eliminated like that then it would hurt like a bitch as well.

If Barca did not deserve this then well Manchester did not deserve it against Porto as well.

I'm with Ilyich, Barca didn't deserve this game and who cares how Chelsea played their games because the fact of the matter is the boys in Blue played 2 better games than Barcelona. Not to mention two handballs inside of Barca's box.

Also, Essien's goal wasn't "pretty" ?

this is why God invented the champions league final

Truth be told, this year's football has been rubbish quite frankly, Utd included.

I'm sorry, but I'm sticking with it. Barca are overrated, Messi is overrated, CR is overrated, van der Sar is overrated...

Like I said, Barca are a good team, but people were going on about them being better than the Ronaldinho-era team (they're not), and that they're the best team in the world (who can say for sure?).

Respect Miele

Ilyich, dont embarass urself man with shallow /sweeping statements.
This was not Barca at their best but they still manage to score a beauty against the most annoyingly ugly albeit the most physically imposing team in the semis. How can that be overrated?

Much respect from a United fan hopefully not talking outta her ass. But I really hope the better team on May 27th wins.

Well done, see u guys in Rome. Catalanbarcafan hope ur reading this...I was cheering u guys on even when my Barca supporting mates had given up hahah. Told ya, with or without Henry huh?

On the other hand, barring Pique, it would be lovely if yoour defense would keep playing like that vs my team in Rome.

Barca Over-rated ?

Lol. There goes another Man-utd fan talking outta his ass. Jeez whats with you spineless supporters. Sigh.

ilyich takes a shitfly fan of manure like yourself to call barca overrated.If manure were all that then they should have been in FA cup finals and also wrapped up the BPL title already.No treble for them.Typical bpl fan's arrogance to say barca are just good.

MAD: disgusting thing to say. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Chelsea are boring robotic team, but they still deserved to go through I reckon: Barca looked pretty poor. Credit to Barca for sticking to their philosophy (not that I think they know how to do anything else, mind you), but if you can't score at home, and only go through because of bad refereeing, then you can't be called the better team.

As a Utd fan, I'm more glad that we've got Barca than Chelsea. Chelsea are hard to beat, but Barca are overrated. Good, but overrated nonetheless.

how is john terry the captain of any club or nation, let alone chelsea and england? he is always leading or a major part of whenever chelsea go to fight the ref. real captains are supposed to be calming their teammates down. being a leader of professionals, not a leader of a gang.

Chelsea should have put away the chances they had. It could have been 3-0 WITHOUT penalties.

Drogba robbed you more than the ref. Go tell Ballack to scream his ass off at his partner instead.

Hey Michael , dont insult Dolphins for god sake.

MAD

Lilac you idiot, if Chelsea were robbed then why did Barcelona lose a man for a foul that didn't even exist? Anelka dived just like that dolphin Ronaldo always does! Chelsea deserved to lose! Go Barca!!!!!!!

Robbed ?

Thats football. If you live by the sword then here will be a time when u die by the sword also.

Hahaha! Petroleum-Chelski just can't win anything without Mourinho!

Chelsea was robbed, plain and simple. F**king robbed.

I think it'll be a good final, a better watch than man united- chelsea. Chelsea had three or four decent penalty shouts, but then Barca should have had one in the last leg and Abidal shouldn't have been sent off. In the end, Chelsea had the opportunities to seal a place in the final without a penalty, and at the end of the day Drogba should probabl look a himself for mising those chances rather than reacting like this:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/h...

I hope now that all the ridiculous comments about one legged knock out matches stop. It's fucking retarded. So stupid to think that just because one team, that everyone loves to hate (myself included) didn't let Barca rape them that the competition is severely flawed in that way. Doing so ignores the fact that; firstly, it can happen just as easily in one legged ties, and secondly that the whole gameplan that chelsea stuck to didn't work precisely because of the two legged format with away goals.

alessio as a juve fan you shouldn't talk about bribing refs when its your team that's the originator of that.Rolexes roma gave refs for one year yeah but don't forget the more than 10 years that the lizard Moggi was engaged in corruption of paying off refs and linesmen.

All i can say is bring those drunken bastards.

lol @ Mad.

The English speaking media had been talking about an all English Final all week. Hubris like that gets punished.

I am have a small smile thinking of this game and picturing in my head the legions of the Eternal City Riot Squad polishing their shields and pounding nails into their batons as they watched the clock run down in the game.

The stadium footage of that encounter would be even more enjoyable to watch than the one from the last time ManU came to Rome.

Toast: Excellent point, except for the fact that it left Chelsea at 0-0 coming into the game.

Couple that with a bad ref, bad finishing, and a meager 1-0 lead given up by a split second of bad defending and you've got yourself a Chelsea left behind in the semi finals.

Go ahead and defend all you want, but don't bitch when your team gets taken out at the last second.

Do u see me complaining Alessio ? No right.

Damn you forgot to add Pizzaro to that list. As if care. Every fucking player dives and does a good job at it to earn a penalty or a free kick. Thats modern football for you. Suck up to it.

Dhaw please as someone whose comments I always read and speaks a lot of sense this one time you aren't making any sense.If you've at least seen Chelski play you would know that Drogba always rough houses smaller defenders but suddenly trips over blades of grass when faced with quality defenders that are almost his size.

Who's this Jack clown? Get outta here bitter chelski fan.

I am not being harsh on Chelsea is only because they played by the book. They did everything that was in the book. No one gives a fuck about "modern football".
If you can grind out a result in such a big game then that be it. Nothing wrong with it.

Italian teams do the same thing when they go on away trips and thats the way we play our game. Nothing wrong with that then I dont see whats wrong with chelsea.

Its not arrogance of EPL teams , its arrogance of ENGLISH PUNDITS !! Thats what ticks ppl off the most.

Life is good. Iniesta shows his class once again. :)

could be that the money comes from a russian oil thief with no real attachment to the team...
that kind of buying history...

Trying to BUY history? Don't be an utter joke. That very term is a product of Chelsea haters' imagination. God forbid a club tries to get some money and change their luck. They might be accused of "buying history."

Oh, and I'm sorry that a team under constant attacking pressure shows no initiative to "go forward at all." Surely when you're being pressured into your own box, the first thing you think of is your goalscoring honor. It's not a "10 men in the box" strategy, when the other team is blistering you, and you're forced to defend. How dare Chelsea not open themselves up and let Barca march right in? Must be the evil in their veins.

Or you mean every non-Chelski fan. Did you not see Drogba acting like a total bitch to the referee after the match? Or Anelka diving like he’d been shot? Or Drogba (a big guy) dropping at every opportunity? Or Ballack being a bitch to the referee.

Pavel Nedved anyone >

Pot calling the kettle black. This gets better and better.

Tried to buy history. Bought titles. Distorted the world transfer market. Made heroes out of diving cheats. I could go on…

LMAOOOOO
How Ironic is this eh... coming from a Juventus fan.

Damn !! This is fun

More revising of recent history from alessio. Not surprising.

As to your second point, you must be unaware that Dani Alves plays on your team.

Also, hypocrisy, (and racism I might add), hardly endears you to neutrals.

Credit to Hiddink.
Potato is very very good.

I would love him to coach a Italian team.

Toast: if you think Chelsea == Barca you're wayyy off

Alessio, I totally agree with you. mid table teams in italy like lazio, Napoli, sampdoria, udinese are much more entertaining to watch then the mid table EPL teams.Those 4 italian teams have more budding talent than the all the EPL teams put together.

And meanwhile Chelsea are still the "bad guys" of football because they have money. If I recall, Henry and Messi are two of the highest paid players in the world. Ask a Villa fan how humble Barca is.

And Jack has every right to be angry. Heck, I'm angry. The media is in love with Barca, and they'll be forgiven in a millisecond because they " pway pwetty pwetty fewtball."

Barca fans complaining about diving and classlessness. Absolutely shameful.

This "everything wrong with modern football" garbage needs to stop. What exactly has Chelsea done?

Gotten quality sponsorship? OOOH....well forgive them for acting like a professional football club.

Played defensively against an attacking side during the first leg of an away series? OOO...well forgive them for trying to play strategically.

Diving? OOOH...that must be a phenomenon unique to Chelsea. Surely BARCA, with Alves and Pique, is the picture of clean footballing conscience.

Jack: Go as Guus "The Buus" Hiddink why he told drogba to act like a bitch every time the wind blew at higher than 3 mph, go ask why drogba fucked up an excellent chance by tripping over the ball, and go ask drogba why he missed that 1v1 with Valdes.

Then ask Guus "The Buus" Hiddink why he didn't play football at the Camp Nou

and you'll get your answer as to why your team is out there buying new undies and warming the couch when the final takes place.

Jack!!! cool it buddy, it's only a game!! and why whine about some soft penalty calls.
Man U will be tough without our regular back 4. Can u guys lend us Bosingwa for the final :)

It's an amazing goal in injury time. No one can believe it, but I still love Barca, espesially Messi and Iniesta!
Viva Barca and beat MU then!

Alessio - so true. The invisible sniper was definitely in attendance today for Drogba and Anelka. And Ballack chasing the ref was disgusting.

Jack - sure, the officiating hurt Chelsea more than Barca. However, it was 2 calls against them, not 3. Finally, is Real Madrid mid-table Championship? 8 goals against them alone. Nice try.

The away goal rule should suspend through injury time and extra time. Chelsea set this decision up with that awful display in Barcelona. So they should have gone for the away goal last week.

Jack, cry me a fucking river. The ref was poor overall, he made some calls in our favor but it happens. Maybe if your team spent less time bitching and more time playing you would have held on; we have to thank Drogba's theatrics after all for giving Barcelona the stoppage time needed to pull that off. There's a reason everyone except Chelsea fans and EPL homers are celebrating tonight, and we are going to enjoy it.

What, 100 goals against teams that couldn't even cut it mid-table in the Championship? Good one, Sam.

147 in all competitions, Sam :D

Jose, you want to debate this one? I highly doubt it.

So, Colman, what you're saying is that: one poor decision in favor of Chelsea negates three that went against the Blues. Good math that is.

Thanks Colman! It is very difficult to lose like Chelsea did today, so despite how OVERJOYED I am right now, I'm trying to be sensitive to that fact.

(The officiating was terrible, and I'll dare say it went more against Chelsea than it did Barcelona, even taking into account Abdidal's red.)

I agree with you jose147.

Barca was outplayed 100% today, but Chelsea was outplayed 100% in the first leg.

And Barca scored the all-important away goal that Chelsea refused to go after, so they're out. End of Story.

I think Daryl was referring to the pretty football that saw Barca score 100 goals this season so far. Oh how lovely it is to see Chelsea fail.

What's wrong with what Jose said?

P.S. Those who are talking about the "horrid officiating" in Barca's favour will have to explain to me why Eric Abidal will be sitting in the stands in Rome.

I understand you're quite emotional, so I'll let that one go. Go run your blog, Jack.

So, does "pretty football" equate to horrid officiating and consistent use of the hands? I don't get the premise of this article.

Who's this Jose clown? Get outta here fanboy.