The Battle of Stamford Bridge

It was rough luck for Chelsea, really - down to ten men on a harsh straight red to Asier Del Horno, they actually managed to take the lead on a pitiful own goal, only to give it back on another own goal and finally lose 2-1 after a nice Eto'o header. On the other hand, I've seen high school soccer fields in better shape than the Stamford Bridge pitch, so maybe it was just karma.

The first 45 minutes were a real slog, as neither team got much going. Chelsea seemed content to sit back on their heels, rarely displaying any sort of nose for the goal, as though they were indeed planning on the 0-0 draw Mourinho had stated he would settle for. Plans didn't change much when Del Horno barreled into Messi in the 37th - a foul, sure; a yellow, maybe. A red? Certainly not when you see it on replay. Either way, though, it's just more fuel for the already quite contentious relationship between the sides, illustrated even further by Chelsea's refusal to kick the ball out of play when Motta was clipped, play so unsportsmanlike it appeared to prompt Mourinho to leave his box to apologize to Rijkaard. Of course, Mourinho being Mourinho, he must have looked at the tape later before determining Messi was an "actor and a cheat" - the replay did make it look like Messi oversold Del Horno's contact more than a little, but I'd love for Mourinho to name me some soccer players who don't do that. Cheating, or just gamesmanship? I don't know. I mean, I think a red card should be determined more by apparent intent than by result - if you go flying in with studs up and you're nowhere near the ball, you might be deserving of a red card whether you actually hurt someone or not. Messi insists he felt like Del Horno was trying to hurt him; I don't think the video really bears that out, while the ref says he feels he made the right decision based on the full-speed play. Being an official has certainly become a much tougher job in the age of instant replay, and especially slow-motion replay - people criticize decisions made based on angles and speeds that the ref is never going to see. Was the red harsh? Yes. But at full speed, can I see why he gave it? Yeah, I guess I can.

Oddly, it was Chelsea who came alive first after the break, with a couple of strong runs from Arjen Robben and, eventually, the setpiece that led to the own goal, though Motta was a real goat in giving that one up. (No surprise he was pulled off seven minutes later.) But Barca started to hit their stride around the time when Henrik Larsson was put in for Motta, and largely dominated the last 25 minutes or so. They ended up with a massive 69-31 edge in possession, along with 23-10 in shots and 9-2 in shots on goal. Had Chelsea had 11 men all game, the outcome would surely have been different - the stats if not the score, though the marking on Eto'o's header might not have been so poor with an additional man out there - but they didn't.

However much they may be running away with the EPL for the second year in a row, Chelsea find themselves up against it in the Champions League once more, and much earlier than last year's semifinals. Were they down 2-1 and going home, you might almost like their chances - but headed to Spain down 2-1? Unless they can pitch a 2-0 shutout at Camp Nou - and Barca haven't lost a 2-0 shutout at home since last February in the Primera - Chelsea are going to have to score at least three goals. On the road. The Blues dropped the first leg 2-1 last year and won the return 4-2 with three goals in the first twenty minutes... but last year, they started on the road and finished at home. Mourinho will need to have a miracle up his sleeve to pull this one off; I think Chelsea's quest for European silverware will have to wait another year.