Cruel Loss For Chelsea in Champions League semi

Chelsea took on Barcelona for a spot in the Champions League final against Manchester United. The match played at Chelsea’s home ground followed a scoreless draw in Barcelona.

Chelsea looked to have done enough to earn themselves a rematch against Man Utd, that was until the third minute of injury time. Essien had given Chelsea a 1-0 lead after 9 minutes. Chelsea also had the advantage of an extra man after Abidal was sent off in the 66th minute after bringing down Nicolas Anelka just outside the box.

As I was watching the final moments of the game I was thinking it is not over. Just a single goal was needed by Barcelona to take them through on the away goal rule.

That is what happened. Deep into injury time Barcelona pushed forward. The goal hero for Chelsea, Essien, had a chance to clear the ball to safety but mishit the ball. It went to Messi who squared the ball to Iniesta who hit the ball first time from just outside the box. His strike was perfect and it hit the back of the net high to the left of a diving Cech.

Heartbreak for Chelsea and complete joy for Barcelona. It was still not over and Chelsea pushed forward yet again. A corner was won by the home team. From the corner Ballack took a shot that struck the upper arm of a Barcelona defender. The ref waved it off. Ballack protested the call in such a way that he was given a yellow card.

The no call was the third one I remember seeing not to go Chelsea’s way. Earlier in the match there was a very clear handball by Pique that both the ref and assistant missed.

That’s football. Never over until it is over. Man United after their stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal would go into the final in Rome as favourites but you always have to expect the unexpected in the final as it is a one off match and can go either way.

Facebook comments: