Chelsea sees its dreams dashed
There was anguish and outrage in London. In Barcelona, there was nothing but bedlam.
What else to expect after FC Barcelona had plunged a Spanish dagger into Chelsea soccer hearts Wednesday night, scoring a goal 2:12 into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 tie in a nail-biting European Champions League semifinal at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium?
The vital away goal, which under competition rules counts double in the event of a tie, was enough to propel Barcelona into the May 27 Champions League final against Manchester United in Rome.
Chelsea had held Europe’s highest-scoring team to a 0-0 tie in the first leg in Spain last week. The Blues then held Barcelona at bay for another 90 minutes Wednesday night.
They were only 108 seconds away from what would have been a deserved 1-0 victory in the return match. Chelsea, having lost last season’s final to Manchester United on penalty kicks in Moscow, was that close to having a chance to avenge that bitter defeat.
Then Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta intervened.
With the seconds ticking away and Barcelona desperately seeking a goal that had shown no sign of arriving, Chelsea’s players scrambled to clear their lines.
Messi, who had done nothing of note in the game to that point, found himself with the ball at his feet just to the left of Chelsea’s penalty area. He knew exactly what to do.
The Argentine forward slipped a square pass to the unmarked Iniesta and the Spanish international fired a swerving shot into the upper right corner of goalkeeper Petr Cech’s net. It was Barcelona’s only shot on target all night.
Instant anguish. Instant bedlam.
Chelsea’s players vented their rage on Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, with midfielder Michael Ballack coming close to physically manhandling him and defender John Terry confronting him verbally.
Ovrebo had ignored at least three or four Chelsea appeals for penalty kicks.
“It’s a . . . disgrace,” Chelsea forward Didier Drogba yelled to television cameras.
The Blues had taken the lead in the ninth minute when midfielder Michael Essien scored on a stunning left-foot volley from 25 yards, the goal matching anything achieved by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in United’s 3-1 semifinal victory over Arsenal on Tuesday night.
Said Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who handled the ball in the penalty area only to benefit from one of Ovrebo’s non-calls: “I have no words to describe how happy the team is at this moment.”
Manchester United, the defending champion, defeated Barcelona in last season’s semifinals and will be favored to win in Rome.
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