Champions League - Iniesta denies Chelsea

Eurosport - Thu, 07 May 11:43:00 2009

Andres Iniesta's injury-time leveller sent 10-man Barcelona into the Champions League final after a dramatic 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Chelsea-Barcelona Andres Iniesta - 0

The Spain international struck a screamer in the 93rd minute to cancel out Michael Essien's equally, if not more, stunning early strike to win the tie on the away goals rule following last week's goalless stalemate at the Camp Nou.

Chelsea were left to reflect on what might have been, although initial reaction to defeat was one of anger after referee Tom Ovrebo denied the hosts several strong penalty appeals.

The full-time whistle sparked shocking scenes as Didier Drogba remonstrated with the Norwegian official and had to be restrained before he turned to television cameras and gave his strong opinions on the referee's performance.

The hosts had looked favourites to seal a second consecutive final appearance, having led since the ninth minute and enjoyed a man advantage for the final 25 minutes after Eric Abidal was dismissed for a professional foul.

But Iniesta's sensational strike into the top right hand corner - Barcelona's first attempt on target throughout the 90 minutes - deep into time added on dashed Guus Hiddink's hopes of reaching the final in his first season in charge of the Blues.

The effective defensive showing that secured a goalless draw for Chelsea last week had prompted sharp criticism from Catalonia, but Hiddink is in the business of getting results, not making friends.

Chelsea began the return leg in a similarly blunt vein, packing the defence in a bid to keep out Barca, who enjoyed initial superiority in the game and had far more possession than their hosts.

Chelsea were forced to rely on long balls forward to give their backline relief during the opening exchanges, and it was from one such pass, played downfield by Petr Cech, that led to the opening goal on nine minutes.

The keeper's punt was headed on by Drogba, the ball eventually making its way to Frank Lampard who saw his cross deflected and loop up towards Essien on the edge of the box.

There was nothing anti-football about the Ghanaian's strike. Indeed, a more spectacular finish will not be seen this year. The midfielder struck the ball with a volley so sweet it arrowed towards the top corner and went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Understandably, the goal settled Chelsea, who began to play the ball around with more confidence and more purpose.

And their efforts could easily have been rewarded, as not once, twice, or even three times, but on four occasions, Chelsea had big appeals turned down by Mr Ovrebo.

First, marauding full-back Dani Alves was caught out at the back by some lovely control by Florent Malouda who then fell under the Brazilian's clumsy challenge, apparently a yard inside the box. Ovrebo saw the foul, but deemed the offence to have taken place outside the area.

Didier Drogba then saw his blasted effort from the resulting free-kick well saved by Victor Valdes before John Terry headed wide moments later with Alex stretching to get a telling touch at the far post.

Chelsea were enjoying their best spell of the game, and soon after they had a second, more convincing, penalty appeal waved away.

Drogba was at the centre of the action once again, the Ivorian brilliantly bringing down Lampard's through pass only for Abidal to seemingly bring him down. Again the official opted not to give a spot kick.

It was a bad miss, so perhaps there was a certain sense of justice when the France international did receive his marching orders on 66 minutes, after he halted Nicolas Anelka's run on goal by clipping his compatriot's ankles.

That said, the foul was far less clear cut than the earlier offence and Barca were right to feel aggrieved at having to see out the remainder of the game with a man less.

Abidal will now miss the final against United, as will Alves, who was booked for an aerial challenge on Malouda on the half-hour mark.

Earlier, Drogba had passed up the best chance of the night to give the hosts the luxury of a two-goal lead after Anelka had played him in on goal. Drogba opted to cut inside the challenge of Gerard Pique, who was left on his backside, but his shot was well blocked by Valdes. Malouda fired the follow-up into the side-netting.

The third appeal came on 82 minutes, as Chelsea looked for the second goal that surely would have seen them home. Anelka flicked the ball past Pique, who clearly stopped its progress with his hand, yet once again the referee refused to point to the spot.

A second goal eluded Chelsea, who knew full well that at just 1-0 a single Barca goal would change everything. And so it was, as almost inevitably Iniesta pounced on the disappointing Lionel Messi's square pass on the edge of the area to crash a shot past Cech and break Chelsea hearts.

Yet still there was time for more late drama as Michael Ballack's goalbound shot struck a turning Samuel Eto'o under the arm even deeper into injury time. For a final time, the referee dismissed the appeals, prompting Ballack to go on an amazing rant at the official, earning himself a booking.

The yellow card would have seen the German deprived of a final appearance, but the referee's performance had already made sure he, and Chelsea, will miss out.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

Comment 1754 - 1773 of 1773

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  1. Old man like Hiddink is in the business of getting­ results,not making friends.???

    Up Barca deserved to­ win,they played­ better in both legs,they had more­ possesion and not antifootball­ like chelsea.

    From Tony, on Sat 16 May 6:58AM

  2. to all of you who say chelsea play antifootball, get­ your facts straight.A coach's job is to get results­ not entertain the fans, and that's exactly what­ he's doing. and when saying they should have scored­ more goals well it's true but when malouda got­ brought down in the box he had drogba unmarked in the­ box but couldn't give the pass cause he was pulled­ down in the box, as well when pique handeled the ball­ in the box anelka was on goal alone, and more appeals,­ so when you say they should have scored more goals­ you're right but they shouldn't be stopped by­ defenders hands or being pulled down.THOSE ARE THE­ RULES.(being against the rules is antifootball to all­ you monkey)

    From abdo, on Wed 13 May 6:02PM

  3. instead of blaming referee they must blame Drogba for­ his lost opportunities to score

    From MARIOS, on Sat 9 May 9:40AM

  4. Referring to one of the previous comments: yes, I have­ seen teams as good as the nowadays Man U, and I­ might've even seen better.

    Yet, I rarely have seen­ one so arrogant. I used to support Man U and then this­ generation came in and I just can't stand their­ attitude. To all: respect is something you have to give­ in order to get some.

    Sportsmanship ain't only­ about winning games or being the champs. It primarily­ is about beholding the sportsman's spirit, the­ fairness and the positiveness. Something that many­ nowadays player/sportspersons should remember. That is­ what differentiates the good players from the players­ we'll always remember.

    Also, this should strongly­ ring a bell to all those Chelsea fans posting­ ill-tempered comments here. There is honor in defeat,­ but it takes real guts and character to keep your head­ up when your dream is shattered. Blaming the ref always­ comes in handy. Finding your own faults is always the­ difficult task. But, of the two, the second path is the­ one to victory.

    And also, to some previous comments:­ why should Barca find "excuses" for winning?­ In all these posts, seems like Chelsea supporters have­ found one excuse FOR LOSING and they are going with it­ all the way.

    Remember: a winner does not need to­ apologize, nor has he to find excuses. A loser may try­ and find excuses, but it is always better to find the­ real causes of their defeat.

    A good day to all.

    From pe care vi le mai amintiti, on Fri 8 May 10:15AM

  5. Manchester United for life and It is a great joy for­ Manchester United fans.The Champion League belongs to­ the Manchester United and it is back to back title­ which is meant for the men not for the boys as Arsenal­ Thaught. Am happy that Barcelona has qualified for the­ Final but I want to bet all footbal lovers that­ Manchester United will surely have the title from the­ Barcelona.Christiano Ronaldo is still the World Best­ Player and He is really showing the World that He is a­ Classic player who can't be stop by any motion.Sir­ Alex is the still the best Coach which he has proved­ everybody beyond doubt that he is the best coach in the­ World.Have you seen a team that is like Manchester­ United?

    Donald O.

    From Onwuegbuchilam P, on Fri 8 May 9:46AM

  6. Well, well, justice was served. Barxelona was the only­ team on the pitch. Chelsea was so pathetic! I felt­ sorry for them. In both games they were all the time 1­ step back, trying to avoid the inevidable. Barca had a­ player sent off for what? laying eyes on anelka? The­ last time i saw these tactics was 30 years ago, from­ italian teams playing catenaccio. 10 men inside their­ own box!!! Drogba and anelka on theirs penalty spot!­ lol. Of course this is the only way to play this years­ barcelona! If chelsea had played the match face to face­ like any other game, the score would be similar to the­ one barce had against real madrid in madrid. 2-6.Lay on­ the couch and enjoy the final guys...see how football­ must and should be played.

    From Fanis C, on Fri 8 May 9:10AM

  7. Refferes like him the Hungarian Tom Henning Ovrebo must­ face life ban and prison sentence for such bad­ officiatig.l think if a ref from Zim was used He was­ going to Officiate much better. Thats was disgusting We­ haven't seen such bad refereeing even in this­ southern part of Africa.lt unfortunately for Chelsea­ who deserved to win but were denied the the previledge­ by the ref. No bans on Chelsea players please,its the­ ref is to blame

    From gabon891, on Fri 8 May 7:46AM

  8. the 1 played real football is in the final..thats it
    I­­ REST MY CASE

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 6:33AM

  9. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is­ due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in­ the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be­ more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on­ others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS­ FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 5:11AM

  10. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is­ due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in­ the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be­ more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on­ others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS­ FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 5:10AM

  11. I think I've read this before, Chelsea fans said­ LFC were lucky to score a winner through penalty. This­ time, Chelsea fans is complaining not getting the­ penalty. Barca got a last minute goal, no word of lucky­ yet as Chelsea fans still complaning about that­ penalty. Essien a right footer scoring that hit &­ hope goal from outside the penalty box, surely that was­ a fluke if he was playing for LFC.

    From c, on Fri 8 May 3:49AM

  12. No matter how many appeal for penalties, Chelsea were­ winning and Barca still have to score when playing with­ 10-men. Chelsea lost to an away goal and only have­ themselves to blame for playing out for a 0-0 draw at­ nou camp.

    From c, on Fri 8 May 3:22AM

  13. you chelsea and english fagsssss, get the facts­ straight. If chelsea was such a better team, and palyed­ better than barca, why didn't they scored more­ goals? Barca was missing Henry, they were missing 3 of­ their best defenders, Puyol, Milito, and Marques, and­ still chelse could not score more than one goal, and­ that goal was lucky from eissen. Plus the fact that­ Barca was a man down and they still managed to score.­ Also, did you forget the match at Camp Nou, when­ ballack got away with the red card, and a penalty was­ not given to Henry, and Barca had 23 shots to 3 shots­ for chelsea, and when Barca fans were complaining, you­ chelsea fans were laughing. Guess what? It's pay­ back. Face it, Barca deserved to win, they played­ better in both legs, they had more possesion and more­ shots and played real football, and not antifootball­ like chelsea did.

    From barca_nr_1, on Thu 7 May 11:31PM

  14. you chelsea and english fagsssss, get the facts­ straight. If chelsea was such a better team, and palyed­ better than barca, why didn't they scored more­ goals? Barca was missing Henry, they were missing 3 of­ their best defenders, Puyol, Milito, and Marques, and­ still chelse could not score more than one goal, and­ that goal was lucky from eissen. Plus the fact that­ Barca was a man down and they still managed to score.­ Also, did you forget the match at Camp Nou, when­ ballack got away with the red card, and a penalty was­ not given to Henry, and Barca had 23 shots to 3 shots­ for chelsea, and when Barca fans were complaining, you­ chelsea fans were laughing. Guess what? It's pay­ back. Face it, Barca deserved to win, they played­ better in both legs, they had more possesion and more­ shots and played real football, and not antifootball­ like chelsea did.

    From barca_nr_1, on Thu 7 May 11:27PM

  15. Chelsea denies Chelsea not the ref.

    From Eslay, on Thu 7 May 11:18PM

  16. as a nutral watching this game it seems that barcelona­ playd well with the posetion of the ball but just­ seemed not able to break down cheleas defence no matter­ how deep that they were defending, they could not breal­ chelsea even if they through many men foward......­ chelsea did not play like a home team but their­ approach was effective cos they created far more­ chances.... the ref was not experienced enough for this­ match as all his mafor decisions seemed to be incorrect­ including the sending off of abidal which clearly­ showed that he did not know what he was doing, and that­ is y he did nit give two obvius penalty......but lets­ not take anything away from barca as they capitalised­ on their good fortune and chelseas inability to score­ more goals than they did becos clear cut chances came­ but they seemeed to lack composure on the night.well­ done inista for an excellent strike in the dying­ minutes...one can only understand chelseas anger withe­ ref as he threw away their win...just imagine it was­ the other way round jsut imagine how the barcelona­ players would have reacted.... it is human nature to be­ upset with someone else is indiscretions

    From taste3339, on Thu 7 May 9:50PM

  17. bet scolari is laughing his @#$% off ha ha ha

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Thu 7 May 9:13PM

  18. IS THIS KIND OF FOOTBALL THE LONG BALL UP THE FIELD ­ (SAME AS WOLVES USED TO PLAY)IN THE 80S GOING TO BE­ CHELSEAS PLANS FOR THE FA CUP

    From robert, on Thu 7 May 7:48PM

  19. Many people saying Barcelona could not get many shots­­ on target, and that the Spanish league is weaker dont­­ get the point. How do you get a shot on target when 10­­ out of 11 Chelsea players played deep inside their­ half­ in A MUCH SMALLER STAMFORD BRIDGE, not even­ trying to­ come out to play except for counterattacks­ and kicking­ long balls to 1 one their playeers­ stationed in the­ other half....cmon, what could­ Barcelona have done,­ start to shoot without­ aim/purpose? It's clear and­ has been proven even­ in the Premier League, teams that­ come to defend and­ rely on set pieces clearly could be­ very­ frustrating...Isn't football supposed to be­­ enjoyable and a pride thing for Europe and the rest of­­ the world excluding the US? What a shame people even­­ come out to defend Chelsea's tactics, I rest my­­ case.

    From Akay A, on Thu 7 May 7:34PM

  20. How we supposed to teach are children to respect­ referees when players at top flight football do this­ kind of thing disgraceful. To much money?

    From Garry, on Thu 7 May 5:45PM
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