Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 after dominating possession and could have scored more than they did. The header from Eto'o sealed it. So that should have been the end of it with all the focus on March 7.
Well, this is Barcelona versus Chelsea. The clash which has developed into the biggest game in club football. Of course there was more.
Jose Mourinho, the loudmouth that he is, likes to speak. Mourinho said this on Messi:
How do you say cheating in Catalan? Can Messi be suspended for acting? Barcelona is a cultural city with many great theatres and this boy has learned very well. He's learned play-acting.
Of course he forgot, as Jonathan Stevenson from the BBC points out:
It is only 17 days since English football widely condemned Blues winger Arjen Robben for theatrically diving to get Liverpool keeper Jose Reina sent off in a key Premiership encounter. There is little doubt that Robben's acting was greater than Messi's, yet Mourinho accused Reds boss Rafael Benitez of sour grapes for bringing up the incident in his post-match analysis.
Step back in time at this juncture. Chelsea was down after the first leg. In a few minutes of inspirational football in which they caught Barcelona napping, Chelsea capitalised and took the tie away from Barcelona. Did Barcelona fans cry over the fact that Barcelona dominated possession for much of the two matches last year and still lost?
Step back further now. Mourinho attacked the referee Anders Frisk of talking to Barca coach Frank Rijkaard at half-time in Chelsea's 2-1 first-leg defeat at the Nou Camp last year. This followed Frisk announcing his decision to retire from the game because he had received death threats, and Mourinho was fined and banned for two games for his comments. So in that light, the comments which directly implicate the referee Terge Hauge of wrong doing were unwarranted.
Article comments
1 - Chris Inkpen
Hey great article,
I was watching it with some Catalans here in Boston and they couldn't have been happier. Last year when I was in Barcelona, Chelsea fans invaded our hometown and kept up their stellar reputation. Its not surprising they're still at it.
In addition, Del Horno might not have provoked that red card on that play, but the previous play where he kicked Messi in the knee was easily a yellow card, so no harm, no foul. Go Barca!
2 - Chromatius
I was less bugged by the red card and the associated dramatics, than a constant drumbeat of minor decisions that went Barca's way... as also observed by Sky's commentators.
Just need 2-0 at the Camp Nou... tough one. Might have to be 3-1, very tough indeed. Or 2-1 and penalty shootout; might be doable.
Lot of Barca's opponents seeing red lately - 10 in a row... mmm
3 - Pratyush
@ Chris: Thank you :)
@ Chromatisus: When you come up against a quality team like Barca there is no option left for opponents other than fouling. It results in read cards for them as evident by the stats. Okay just kidding. :D A repeat of last year looks unlikely. I am rooting for a Barcelona win and will be heartbroken if last year's script is repeated.
4 - Someone
How do you say loudmouth in portuguese? The only one who's acting is mourinho