The Sports Bhalla

afootballreport:

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon

A game we’ve all seen before, where Barcelona persistently tried to find the net and were unlucky, again. The consequences of an attacking overload were suffered at the back as an advanced defensive line lost them Europe’s most wanted crown. Chelsea are going to Munich.

In each of the past 5 years, FC Barcelona have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. In 2008, 2010 and now 2012, the visiting side wore white and blocked Barcelona’s path to the final. Under Pep Guardiola, we’ve seen almost two identical matches against Mourinho’s Inter Milan and di Matteo’s Chelsea; two battles when Barcelona had to win by 2 goals, two encounters completely dominated by the hosts, two matches when the visitors played defended with ten men, and most importantly, two matches when they ‘parked the bus’. In fact, the Greek national team which incredibly and unexpectedly won the Euro 2004 could almost be classified as an attacking team when compared to these sides.

Chelsea played like Inter did in 2010, collectively defending for 90 minutes. They were compact, closed, and conservative.

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Great post about the Barcelona-Chelsea UEFA semifinal tie. Personally disappointed that Barca lost, but nonetheless, credit to Chelsea for their strategy and stopping the giant.