Great night for Chelsea

What a game!What a fightback!Truly a night to remember if you are a Chelsea fan.It was a night full of drama and action,it was more like a thriller and at the end there was only one winner Chelsea.Before the match it was assumed that Barcelona are the favourites to win the match and Chelsea would have a long night.

The first half was full of mystery and the way it went most of us would have thought that it would be a one sided affair.The match started as it usually starts with Barca attacking and Chelsea defending.Barca came close on two occasion and both the chance fell to Messi who missed it somehow.When Gary Cahill was injured just after 12 minutes we lost a reliable defender and his replacement was Bosingwa.

After keeping Barca silent for 30 odd minutes the first goal came when Chelsea fail to judge the pass given by Cuenca and Sergio Busquets was their to see the ball home.Barca were back in the tie and the aggregate was 1-1.

Then came the most heartbreaking moment for Chelsea fans when their inspirational captain John Terry was given a straight red card for a foul on Alexis Sanchez although it looked a bit harsh,Terry was fully responsible for that.

From then on there was most likely one winner and that was Barcelona and when Iniesta converted the chance from Messi to make it 2-0 we all felt it is over and Barca will win 5 or 6 nil and it was possible playing against Barca and that too with ten men,its like hell.

But Ramires from nowhere scored the goal with a beautiful chip over Barcelona keeper Valdes to bring  Chelsea back in the game and lets not forget Lampard who played a great ball to Ramires in both the legs and Chelsea go into the half  knowing they have a chance here.

The second half started with Chelsea formation looking like 4-5-0 with Drogba playing as a left back and Chelsea came with the idea of defending and if possible hit Barca on the counterattack.But as everything was going fine Barca got the penalty with Drogba committing a foul on Fabregas.Messi step forward to take the penalty and he missed and it was like Oh My God!How did he missed that?. When he did that there was a sense that it would be a Chelsea night.

Chelsea were defending brilliantly and Barca were finding it difficult to break Chelsea down.But when Messi hit a low shot,Cech just got a fingertip to deflect it to the post.

When Drogba replacement Torres got the ball just before the half line when Cole cleared I was just like please score it and he did brilliantly to put Chelsea in the final.But we lost four great players due to suspensions - Terry,Ramires,Ivanovic and Meireles.

But for me all the players played like heroes,heroes that never back down.Chelsea will now meet Bayen in the final in Bayern own stadium Allianz Arena and it would be a tough match but Chelsea should go there and fight it out for the title.




Watch Chelsea vs Barcelona 2nd leg Highlights:-

Champions League hope still Alive

The Arsenal match was not so attractive as it would rather be.It was much like a game where Chelsea were sitting deep and hoping to hit Arsenal on the counterattack.Only three players from the Barcelona game started as Di Matteo rested players for their crucial Champions League game.

The match started good for Arsenal as they had the most possession and were looking composed whereas Chelsea were defending deep.Arsenal had great chances in the first half.The first one was Van Persie received a great ball only to hit it to the post.

The second one was when Koscielny hit the bar from the freekick and the last one when Persie hit straight at Cech.The second half started on a similar note where Arsenal had a large amount of possession.

Arsenal had chances but Chelsea were too having the ball and looking dangerous on counterattack but most of the time the final ball was not great and Chelsea were not able to fully threaten Arsenal.

Sturridge got a great chance to open the scoring but the control was not good and Koscielny was able to put away the danger.The match ended with both the team shared a point and it was a good point from Chelsea perspective but not so good from Arsenal perspective.

The next match of Chelsea is the 2nd leg of Champions league against Barcelona at the Nou Camp and it would be a huge task for Chelsea and I hope Chelsea will get a positive result there that will help us enter the Champions League final for the second time.





Watch Chelsea vs Arsenal Highlights Here:-

Two great wins

The 5-1 drubbing of Tottenham followed by a hard fought 1-0 win over Barcelona have given Chelsea a new belief that they can get the result with hard work and patience.The Tottenham match was controversial because of Chelsea's second goal but overall Chelsea deserved to win that match.Drogba and Lampard scored a great goal and Ramires and Malouda completed a memorable win and a place in the FA Cup final.

The Tottenham and Barcelona game had a similarity in terms of goal scorer Drogba.Barcelona game started as we all expected with Barcelona having the possession and Chelsea defending.Barcelona looked threatening and they would have scored when Iniesta chipped a ball to Sanchez only for Sanchez to hit the bar.

Fabregas came close on two occasions to open the scoring but failed to utilize it. Chelsea defence stood strong and the disciplined they shown in defence were remarkable. Cahill especially was superb considering its only his second full start to a Champions League match and that too against a great Barcelona side.Ashley Cole and John Terry were great.

Chelsea were superb in defence and when Messi lost the ball in midfield which rarely happens Lampard passed a beautiful ball to Ramires and Ramires was just able to pass the ball behind the Barcelona defence where Drogba touched it to open the scoring.

The second half was similar to first half where Barcelona dominated and Cech was tested time and time again but he saved each one of them.Chelsea were defending and blocking each shot of Barcelona.Barcelona were left frustated not because they were unable to score but because Drogba was making them frustated with his drama play.

In the stoppage time Chelsea supporters almost got the  flashback of  Chelsea-Barcelona 2009 semifinal when the ball hit the post and Busquet hit the shot way over and it was like Thank God! and Chelsea hold on to mark a hard fought win.

The 2nd leg would be even more difficult and if Chelsea scores first then they would have a good chance of advancing to the Final.Now the attention shifts to the Arsenal match and Di Matteo will choose the best possible team to get the result at the Emirates.

I hope in the coming matches Chelsea get the result they want and that will make their season even more interesting and exciting.

Watch Chelsea vs Barcelona Highlights:- 

Taking One Game at a Time

A win against Wigan followed by a draw against Fulham has given Chelsea's Champions League spot a boost as well as a setback.After a controversial win against Wigan and leading 1-0 almost half the game we missed a great chance of grabbing the fourth spot.

After Lampard scored from the penalty,although we failed to score a second goal we were comfortable in possession but Fulham punished us.This is the fourth consecutive match where we conceded late goals and that really is a big issue.

Now we have to play some big games which will make or break our season.A FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham followed by Champions League semifinal against Barcelona ,league game against Arsenal and 2nd leg against Barca.

Chelsea need to raise their game and stop conceding late goals .Nobody is giving them a chance against Barca but its a Champions league semifinal and anything is possible.

Chelsea need to be quite sharp and need to grind out results because now every match is like a final for them.So go ahead Chelsea and make your fans and yourself proud by your achievements.

Nerve Wracking but a great result

The Champions league match against Benfica on Wednesday was a nerve wracking one.Chelsea had a 1-0 lead going into the match and that too an away goal.It was pretty simple that either we should draw or win the match to qualify for the semifinal.

The match started on a bright note as Benfica started to gain possession and playing some beautiful football.The first four minutes saw Chelsea defending as a series of Benfica attacks were coming.It was a torrid time and a goal at that moment definitely would have boosted Benfica's confidence,but Chelsea survived.

Then Chelsea started to play as they want and were holding on and looking for the counter attack and that lead us to first goal. Ashley Cole receiving a good ball in the opposition penalty area from John Terry and he just managed to commit a foul from Javi Garcia.Lampard managed to beat the keeper and we were ahead 2-0 on aggregate.

A great start and we were building on confidence but Pablo Aimar was the bright spot from Benfica leading series of attack to Chelsea and caused Chelsea various problems.But then came the turning point of the game, a red card to Maxi Pereira for a challenge on Mikel and Benfica ended the half with ten men.

The second half started on a great note with Chelsea waiting to punish Benfica on the counterattack.With ten men Benfica would have given up but they played with same flair and looking dangerous on several occasions.Chelsea too missed handful of chances to put the tie beyond Benfica and how on earth Ramires missed a simple chance when he just only had to make some sort of contact.

But as the match progressed Chelsea paid the price for missing those chances as Garcia headed from the corner and with five minutes remaining it would have been a long five minutes.

Benfica were throwing everything at Chelsea and  had a good chance of winning the match but at the injury time Raul Meireles put the tie beyond Benfica by scoring a great goal and put Chelsea in the semifinal against the mighty Barcelona.

It would be a great match against Barcelona and Barcelona would be favourite but who knows its a semifinal and anything is possible.We play Wigan on Saturday and then have a match against Fulham on Monday followed by  FA Cup semifinal match against Tottenham and Champions League match against Barcelona.

So the matches are coming thick and fast and Di Matteo would used his rotation policy to overcome the fatigue and keep the players fresh as every match is important and a must win game.

Watch Chelsea vs Benfica Highlights here:-

Testing time for Chelsea

In the last three matches Chelsea played a goalless draw with Tottenham, an impressive win against Benfica and the all important win against Aston Villa has given the supporters a sense of belief that this season can be fruitful.

Chelsea play Benfica at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and would want to continue their dream run for the Champions League title which somehow eluded them.After winning 1-0 at Benfica we got an away goal advantage thanks to Torres and Kalou.

But underestimating Benfica would cost Chelsea heavily but I like the approach of Roberto Di Matteo in bringing the positive attitude which was missing in the Villa Boas era and this attitude has helped the team in a big way.

Di Matteo and his players know that Benfica are a great side and it would be hard to beat them and they would definitely give their all and try to win the match and secure their place in the semifinal for the sixth time in eight years.

What I most liked is the form Torres is showing.He is playing well,scoring goals,assisting goals and most importantly giving his 100 percent and the goal he scored against Aston Villa defines his quality and the efforts he has put in.

Chelsea are playing good football and I would like them to continue their dream run in the Champions League and book a mouth-watering clash against either AC Milan or Barcelona.

Watch Fernando Goal against AstonVilla here:-