Barca v Chelsea Round2

**Risteard** · 07/03/2006, 9:39 AM

Predictions?
Chelsea are too good to be out of this tie imo.
Also, though Rijkaard has steadied the ship this year, the Barca back four are still prone to the odd howler.
One goal is no big gap.
I can see Chelsea flying out of the traps, going 2up and not knowing what to do then.
4-2 Barca.
This game is made for goals.

**Dodge** · 07/03/2006, 9:49 AM

This game is made for goals.
Lets hope so. Also hope there's a debatable penalty in the last minute to win it for Barca.

**Aldini98** · 07/03/2006, 1:38 PM

Really hope Barca stuff them just because of Moanrinho

**Emmet** · 07/03/2006, 4:32 PM

Originally Posted by Aldini98

Really hope Barca stuff them just because of Moanrinho

Absolutely! Barcelona could stuff them 10-0 with Ronaldinho & Messi dancing through the entire Chelsea team at will all night long ... it would still be the ref's fault!!

**wws** · 07/03/2006, 4:33 PM

Chelsea will win 1.2.

and than anything goes in "extrar" time

**Risteard** · 07/03/2006, 4:46 PM

I want Barca to thump them despite Mourinho.
He still has a bit of charm afaic but he's just in unchartered territory 'talk-wise' if they get hammered.
And Barca do play the better football.

**The Stars** · 07/03/2006, 5:07 PM

Want Barca to hammer them but I wouldnt mind a high score draw with BArca score a controversial penalty in the last minute to go through on aggregate.....just to p!ss Chelski off and give them something to moan about.
Also hope Drogba starts and misses his usuall 3 chances.

**Dodge** · 07/03/2006, 9:21 PM

Best team won, despite Mourinho's protestations

**dfx-** · 07/03/2006, 9:26 PM

Juventus, Villareal and football won tonight...

**JoeSemi** · 07/03/2006, 9:33 PM

Class over substance.

Dignity over arrogance.

History over an overnight creation.

Barcelona over London.

Beautiful over ugly.

Rijkaard over Moaninho.

Barca over Chelski.

Goodnight and sleep tight Jose and Co.!

**FarBeag** · 07/03/2006, 9:51 PM

Excellent. Glad Barca have gone through.Best team with the best player in the world.Debatable in the last minute allright but went to Chelsea.

**dfx-** · 07/03/2006, 9:57 PM

You would have thought Mourinho might have pre-planned for having to go desperate late on and had striking substitutes who could do a job, not a Gary Doherty.

Even Paul Jewellio would have done better.

**Closed Account 2** · 07/03/2006, 10:05 PM

The match wasn't great, but Barca did the hard work last week. Was hoping Werder would beat Juve, they were the most attacking and positive team left in the competition and Juve are the diametric opposite.

**JoeSemi** · 07/03/2006, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by d f x-

You would have thought Mourinho might have pre-planned for having to go desperate late on and had striking substitutes who could do a job, not a Gary Doherty.

Even Paul Jewellio would have done better.

Its called desperation, and I'm so surprised the self proclaimed 'special one' would allow himself to stoop to such low standards!

The ultimate hypocrite, with a chip on his shoulder because he never gets the respect he craves. .

**JoeSemi** · 07/03/2006, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by Risteard

Predictions?
Chelsea are too good to be out of this tie imo.
Also, though Rijkaard has steadied the ship this year, the Barca back four are still prone to the odd howler.
One goal is no big gap.
I can see Chelsea flying out of the traps, going 2up and not knowing what to do then.
4-2 Barca.
This game is made for goals.

You can afford to have howlers when your cruising most games in La Liga, but when it has been put to Barca against better teams they have stood up and been counted.

Tonight showed as much. Puyol a rock; Oleguer solid and accomplished; Marquez oozes class; and Gio was steady, albeit with a lot of work from Motta in front.

**renovater** · 07/03/2006, 10:23 PM

Watch the game to night felt Chelsea were short on fire power to many wingers playing when they need to convert to more of 4-4-2 formation.
you simply cant play Duff/ Robbin and Cole in the same team chelsea needed
to have crespo and drobra playing up top
Chelsea would have been better if they played Macca Lamps cole and robbin
in mid field
However must not be forgotten Barca still failed to beat 11 man chelsea.

**dfx-** · 07/03/2006, 10:29 PM

You would expect desperation though to be needed and to really push on before the game and yet he puts on Huth - just as he did in desperation against Liverpool last year to the same effect, free kicks given away etc. So you have to ask has he not learned anything from last year..? Why not put Phillips on the bench to only use for desperation instead?

If you had anticipated you might need desperate tactics, you still wouldn't put on Huth. Perhaps it's that he didn't envisage such a need - then why did they seem so cautious throughout the game? If he didn't envisage it, then he is not preparing his team for every reasonable eventuality...

I'm expecting some desperation might be needed tomorrow night for Liverpool, but even then I still don't expect Traore to come on and play upfront regardless of whether he might upset Benfica's rhythm or not.

**JoeSemi** · 07/03/2006, 10:32 PM

Who's Macca Lamps? Brilliant company name if its not already in use.

You beat whats put in front of you and thats all Barca can do. Can't talk about what ifs. If the referee hadn't awarded the filth that penalty Barca would have won, wouldn't they?

But they didn't!

**JoeSemi** · 07/03/2006, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by d f x-

You would expect desperation though to be needed and to really push on before the game and yet he puts on Huth - just as he did in desperation against Liverpool last year to the same effect, free kicks given away etc. So you have to ask has he not learned anything from last year..? Why not put Phillips on the bench to only use for desperation instead?

If you had anticipated you might need desperate tactics, you still wouldn't put on Huth. Perhaps it's that he didn't envisage such a need - then why did they seem so cautious throughout the game? If he didn't envisage it, then he is not preparing his team for every reasonable eventuality...

I'm expecting some desperation might be needed tomorrow night for Liverpool, but even then I still don't expect Traore to come on and play upfront regardless of whether he might upset Benfica's rhythm or not.

I think he's too stubborn and egotistical to admit his mistakes when others may have spotted them first. He claims he has a solution to every eventuality and that philosophy has proved flawed in two of Chelsea's most important one-off games in the last two seasons. The rigidity of his system has stifled Duff and others and unless you can adapt by continuing to play football you will struggle at that level.

If the man could sit back and take stock of what he has created he will see that he hasn't always conducted himself properly and this will transmit itself onto the players in time. Most of them are no fools and have bought into his philosophies for nearly two seasons, but must have some minor doubts about his character now.

Maybe he was hoping for Djimi to produce his Burnley heroics last May!

**osgood was good** · 07/03/2006, 11:23 PM

I just knew Jose would not admit that the better team went through...in my opinnion they did.
All week he has had the spotlight on him, and he gets it wrong tonight and again he can't be gracious in defeat.

The way we played you would have thought that we were one or two goals up going into the match - rather than needing to score at least two goals.

Yeah, i know that European football needs a crafty approach, but recovering a situation needs a bit of style and elan.

To win at the Nou Camp in European competition you need to play something inspired or special.

We didn't have it tonight.

Too many long balls - Howard Wilkinson methods rather than quality football. It's not as if we don't have the players with ability.

Huth coming on was repulsive! This is not Cambridge in the FA Cup, this is the battle of the giants, the tie that the vast majority of people believed would produce the CL winners.