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On Wednesday, the second day of the Champions League round of 16 took place, featuring plenty of goals and dramatic episodes. In a long-awaited match between Chelsea and Barcelona, the Spanish club emerged victorious after a nerve-wracking, tense, and somewhat bizarre battle. Meanwhile, Werder snatched a victory against Juventus in Germany, and Rangers and Inter managed to avoid defeat against Villarreal and Ajax, respectively.
At London's Stamford Bridge, Barcelona's footballers claimed a 2-1 victory, giving them an excellent opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals. The hosts started the match more actively, earning two penalties and pressing their opponents, but it was the visitors who had the first real chance to take the lead. After a great counterattack, young Lionel Messi tested Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech's reactions.
The wet and somewhat uneven pitch caused problems for Barcelona's players, who often misjudged the ball's speed and had to halt their attacks. However, the hosts had more difficulties, and the visitors defended and launched their attacks more successfully.
In the first half, both teams exchanged several dangerous attacks, with the young Argentine L. Messi causing many problems on the left side of Chelsea's defense, where Asier Del Horno played. Although the latter initially avoided a yellow card for a dangerous play, an incident involving these players towards the end of the first half changed the course of the match. After a heated battle near the corner flag, A. Robben was fouled by L. Messi, who was then harshly tackled by A. Del Horno. After consulting with the linesman, Norwegian referee Terje Hauge dismissed the Spanish defender with a red card.
Following this incident, Barcelona gained even more territorial advantage (they had a 34%-66% possession advantage), and Chelsea focused on counterattacks. This is why from the beginning of the second half, a player like Didier Drogba, known for his speed and skill in heading the ball, emerged on the field.
Throughout the second half, Barcelona dominated the pitch, creating dangerous chances one after another. However, it was midway through the half that they found themselves trailing: Frank Lampard's attempted clearance ended up in the net after Thiago Motta, trying to block John Terry, deflected the ball with his leg.
This goal seemed to awaken the Catalan superclub, and soon after, the fourth nominal forward entered the game - Swede Henrik Larsson replaced Thiago Motta. It was Larsson who earned a penalty in the 71st minute, and after Ronaldinho's pass, John Terry's head deflected the ball into his own net.
Shortly after, L. Messi cleverly bypassed defenders with a superb strike towards the top corner of the goal, shaking the framework. After a few more minutes, Ronaldinho had an excellent opportunity to score, but J. Terry cleared the ball from the goal line. However, Barcelona's pressure paid off in the 80th minute - after Ronaldinho's pass to the left side of the penalty area, H. Larsson, unmarked, passed the ball to R. Marquez, who with a single touch set up S. Eto'o for a precise header, putting the visitors ahead. Despite continued pressure from Barcelona, the result remained unchanged until the end of the match.
Another football thriller took place in Bremen, where Werder defeated Turin's Juventus in a tough and dynamic battle. The German club took the lead in the first half with goals from Christian Schulz, but in the second half, within nine minutes, goals from Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet turned the match in favor of the visitors.
However, supported by their fans, Werder's footballers did not give up, equalizing in the 87th minute through Tim Borowski and sealing their victory in the second minute of added time with a header from Johan Micoud. Werder celebrated a memorable win, but to advance to the next stage, they will likely need to avoid defeat in the return leg in Turin.
Despite not securing a victory, another Italian club, Inter Milan, managed a 2-2 draw away against Ajax in Amsterdam. The hosts took the lead sensationally in the 16th minute, with Klaas Jan Huntelaar scoring after a pass from Mauro Rosales. Just four minutes later, M. Rosales himself doubled the advantage for the home team.
However, luck was not on Inter's side, as both Julio Cruz and Ivan Cordoba scored goals with their heads from the same corner just before the end of the first half. Nonetheless, the Milan club made a recovery almost immediately after the break when Dejan Stankovic reduced the deficit, and finally, after sustained pressure from the opponents, J. Cruz equalized in the 86th minute. Inter secured an away-goals advantage ahead of the return leg.
A similar scenario unfolded in Glasgow, where Rangers faced Villarreal, making their debut in the knockout stages. The hosts scored the first goal from the penalty spot through the returning leader of the Spanish club, Juan Roman Riquelme, after an 11-meter mark. Peter Lovenkrands managed to level the score in the middle of the first half, but just thirteen minutes later, Diego Forlan restored the visitors' lead.
Rangers struggled to create more dangerous chances, but the Scottish club managed to avoid defeat - in the 86th minute, after a pass from Thomas Buffel, the ball rebounded off Juan Manuel Pena and into the goal. However, it was little consolation for the Glasgow team, as they now face a challenging task in Spain.
Results of Wednesday's matches:
Chelsea 1 - 2 Barcelona
Werder 3 - 2 Juventus
Rangers 2 - 2 Villarreal
Inter 2 - 2 Ajax
