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One of the most interesting and controversial matches of this season's Champions League continues. We present the second part of the thriller "Chelsea vs Barcelona" - the return leg match will take place this evening at Stamford Bridge stadium in London.
(First match 1-2)
The first meeting in Barcelona was very tense and eventful - "Chelsea" took the lead after J. Belletti scored an own goal, but being left with ten men after D. Drogba was sent off the field, the visitors had to defend and ultimately conceded two goals after a barrage of attacks from the Barcelona team and lost.
This failure especially angered "Chelsea" coach Jose Mourinho, who accused his opponent Frank Rijkaard of trying to influence the referee's decisions during the match. In response, representatives of the Barcelona camp dismissed Mourinho's accusations as nonsense and stated that the London team tried to psychologically affect them before the match and did not play football on the field.
So the tension before the return match has only increased, and both sides will try to prove that they are stronger than their opponents. The truth is that the Catalan team does not need to do that - they have a one-goal advantage acquired in the first leg, and a draw would be enough.
Furthermore, this match has another dimension as it is a clash between the best clubs of this season in Spain and England - "Chelsea" leads the Premier League, while "Barca" occupies the first place in La Liga. In general, both teams have a lot of similarities lately - their lead over the pursuers in the leagues with 11 games left is equal (8 points each), they both won away matches last Saturday.
In the last ten games in all competitions, "Chelsea" won seven matches, played one draw and lost twice. A slightly better result for the Barcelona team - seven wins, two draws, and one loss overall. However, although J. Mourinho admitted that their opponents were stronger in the first leg, the coach also did not forget to mention his dissatisfaction with referee Anders Frisk's decision to give a red card to D. Drogba for a foul on goalkeeper V. Valdes.
"In the first leg, Barcelona was a better team than us, so this time we will have to play better than them. They want to reach the quarterfinals and we want the same," Mourinho said. "They lead 2-1, but there are still 90 minutes or even the full two hours remaining. We think Drogba should be able to play, but he can't, so all of this had an impact on both matches. Whatever happens, we have to accept it and play without him."
Meanwhile, Barcelona coach F. Rijkaard assured that his team was not affected by the tense verbal confrontation that took place after the first leg and approaching the second leg, and denied that he and his opponent J. Mourinho do not get along.
"We all know that the match will be tough and important, but these are the kind of matches that real professionals want to play," Rijkaard said. "Mourinho works well and is indeed a successful coach. Everyone has the right to speak and act as they want, and if that is his chosen path, I am not the one to complain. Life is beautiful because people are different, and the same goes for football, because if everyone were the same, it would be a boring situation."
The coach from the Netherlands also highlighted the differences in playing styles of both teams: "We can't forget that "Chelsea" has very good attacking players who can hurt us, but I think it would be fair to say that "Chelsea" is a bit more result-oriented than Barcelona. We play for the spectators but without forgetting that the result is important, while Chelsea counterattacks more than we do."
Choosing the lineup before the match will likely be a bigger problem for the London team's strategist, who will definitely miss the disqualified Drogba, injured defenders W. Bridge and R. Huth. S. Parker finally recovered from a foot injury and will start on the bench, not completely clear about W. Gallas, while slightly injured last weekend, captain J. Terry, C. Makelele, and D. Duff should play.
The case of the leader of one team, Arjen Robben - according to Mourinho, the Dutchman has not recovered from a month-old injury and is not ready to play, but recalling that two weeks ago the coach said the same about D. Duff, there are some doubts. If Robben were to play, he would partner with Duff on the field and support E. Gudjohnsen, who will be the central striker.
"Barcelona" will be without long-term injured Gabri, T. Mottos, Edmilson, and H. Larsson, and last weekend defender Rafael Marquez also got injured, so he won't be able to help his team this time. Among the good news for Barcelona is the return of Ludovico Giuly, who missed the past two matches, but this time he might be replaced by the young A. Iniesta.
Possible lineups for the teams
"Chelsea" (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Lampard, Makelele, Tiago, Cole; Duff, Gudjohnsen
"Barcelona" (4-3-3): Valdes; Beletti, Puyol, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst; Xavi, Marquez Albertini, Deco, Iniesta; Giuly, Eto’o, Ronaldinho
