The goalless draw may prove awkward for Chelsea

author: Kevin McCarra
source: The Guardian
date: 29 April 2009
editing: fcbtransfers.blogspot.com





A goalless draw at the start of a tie is a spectral presence. Someone may well be haunted by it when Chelsea's Champions League semi-final with Barcelona is completed next Wednesday. Neither manager got what he truly wanted this week. The advantage held by Guus Hiddink's team following the away leg is marginal and ­success is measured in the fact that he must be fractionally less frustrated than Pep Guardiola.

Press reaction in Spain was tentatively defiant. "It's not a bad result," said a headline in Mundo Deportivo. There was an undercurrent of disquiet to that comment and its source probably lay in recollection of Barcelona's removal from this tournament last season by Premier League opponents, with no goals registered against Manchester United.

Statistics do show that the team has an enhanced impact now that Guardiola is in charge. Yesterday he was very close to the 1-0 win that would have constituted a poor result for the visitors. Wolfgang Stark's refusal to award a penalty for José Bosingwa's tug on the vibrant Thierry Henry displayed obstinacy rather than judgment as he defied the demands of the home support.

The match, despite a fairly satisfactory outcome, had not been as Hiddink intended. He is straightforward in his comments and we ought to take him at his pre-match word. He had said then: "We should not wait until the storm is coming. We must take what is in our team and do some harm as well."

Chelsea failed in that mission. There was the masterful double save by ­Victor Valdés from Didier Drogba, but the ­opening had arrived with a lapse from the Barcelona centre-back Rafael Márquez. The visitors mostly blunted themselves with their inferior technique. About a third of ­Chelsea's passes were misplaced. Barcelona, despite the obstacles placed before them by Hiddink, found their man over 80% of the time.

While Chelsea should certainly fare better at Stamford Bridge, it would be presumptuous to conclude that they are bound to seize control against ­opponents of deeper talent.

Irrespective of the outcome on the domestic front, Barcelona will continue to be rueful that they have to handle the remainder of the semi-final without two centre-backs. Gerard Piqué coped well with Drogba at Camp Nou, but now he will have to function in a makeshift pairing. The early suggestion is that Eric Abidal will be shifted to the centre while Sylvinho comes in at left-back. In principle, there ought to be additional opportunities for Chelsea when there is less rapport in the Barcelona defence.

All the same, a great deal of resistance is going to be demanded of Hiddink's squad. The visitors do not even have the right kind of players to stonewall and they must be mindful, in any case, that a minimum of one goal has to be recorded. Chelsea's aim will be to get and keep the ball often enough to exploit defects in the Barcelona back four. None the less, there will be phases in which the second match resembles a restaging of the first. ­Hiddink's men had better be ready to scurry and cover once more.

While Lionel Messi was hindered as professionally as could have been expected in the first leg, it should be a boon to have Ashley Cole, with his suspension served, around to try and bar the Argentinian's path in the return. John Terry will have to be as dominant as he was in Camp Nou. On a rare occasion, a wonderful turn by Samuel Eto'o was too good for both the captain and Alex, but Petr Cech got a boot in the way of the striker's finish. Chelsea's goalkeeper thrived and might have appreciated opponents whose first thought is not to try and duff him up while crosses rain down on the six-yard box.

He and many others should escape with minor bruising in the semi-final, but this a very tight affair and there will be some severe cases of heartache when it comes to an end at last.

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