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He wasn’t the man of the match. That was Willian. His team didn’t have the best chances. Those fell to Chelsea. Yet if Barcelona approach the second leg as undoubted favourites, and they do, it is Lionel Messi that is responsible. Again.
One chance, one goal. That is all he needs. And Messi got it because he, allied with Barcelona’s relentless forward drive and immense levels of possession, will terrify any opposition. Raw defenders in possession, in particular.
Andreas Christensen hadn’t looked happy with the ball at his feet all night. He had already sliced one attempted pass behind him for a corner in the first half. Yet Chelsea kept trying to play their way out of trouble, giving their least experienced defender the ball in tight spots as Barcelona harried and chased. Something had to give, and eventually it did.
Christensen received the ball deep on the left and as Barcelona closed played a suicidal pass across his own back line to the right side. Miscued, misplaced it turned into a 50-50 for Cesar Azpilicueta, one the Chelsea man was a substantial outsider to win.
He dived in, going to ground rashly in sheer desperation, missing his tackle, and allowing Andres Iniesta to slip the ball inside. When it became apparent who was waiting, there was no doubting the outcome. No side have held out longer against Messi than Chelsea, 730 minutes of football until this point.
His first game against them was the last Barcelona victory in their meetings, almost 12 years ago to the day, but he has never scored – before Tuesday night. So that is another record broken. The finish was perfect, assured, near post. Never in doubt. Yet for a time, Barcelona’s advantage in this tie was.
It was fitting, perhaps, that Willian was temporarily off the pitch when Barcelona’s goal occurred, receiving treatment on a bloodied lip. He didn’t deserve not to be on the winning side, so at least he was not literally present when Chelsea conceded.
For if this was an excellent team performance, given the low expectations for Chelsea in this tie, it was arguably Willian’s finest 90 minutes in a blue shirt. He hit the right post, he hit the left post, before finally getting his rightful reward with a goal after 62 minutes. Third time lucky, some said. But there was nothing lucky about it.
Eden Hazard played a curling pass across the edge of the area, and Willian did what he does best, sizing it up before as good as passing it into the net from 20 yards out. In these moments, he reminds of no-one more than Thierry Henry, the same glorious precision in front of goal, shots stroked so delightfully they have the accuracy of passes, and only slightly more power. Frank Lampard is another antecedent, the way he would maraud upfield, always with an eye for the goal, as much as the killer pass.
And while Barcelona may have had the superior passing statistics, Chelsea came closest to scoring and were more than worth their draw. The English team that looked to have pulled the shortest Champions League straw will travel to the Nou Camp next month with a small reserve of optimism few thought possible when this draw was announced.
They have shocked this team before, in considerably more desperate circumstances, and there have now been eight meetings since the last Barcelona win on February 22, 2006. In that period there have been two Chelsea wins, and six draws – but that is why the advantage remains with Barcelona this time.
A low scoring draw will still do them; 0-0 and they progress on away goals, 1-1 and the match goes to extra time. Still, it’s better than many hoped. Before this first leg, a lot of Stamford Bridge regulars were more concerned with damage limitation.
Yet if there has been a theme this week it is that possession, in itself, can be a false indicator, and so it was on Tuesday night, too. Chelsea often played Wigan to Barcelona’s Manchester City – but with one, big, difference. Chelsea had more shots at goal, as many shots on target and the two closest shaves of the 90 minutes. Barcelona have every right to fear them, and the prowling Willian in particular, when the teams reconvene.
2 Comments
amazing goals from wilan
what a stuped mistake from chelsea defender?
This chelsea defender is stuped jackass