CL 2nd Round, 2nd leg, Barca (1) vs (1) Chelsea (RTE, BT Sports)

MurDawg

hullaballoo wrote: »

At least we didn't get knocked out by a second tier Spanish side.

But you got beaten by the guys who did, go figure

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

The music played at Nou Camp at the end of the game sounds like something that would be played when Kim Jong Un is inspecting an Armed Forces parade in Pyongyang.

Turtyturd

That was enjoyable.

Fairly comfortable for Barca, people talking about Chelsea having a good game but they never really troubled Barca, and they could’ve upped their game if it looked like Chelsea were going to threaten them.

Lukker-

Experience and game management saw Barcelona through. Chelsea hit the woodwork 4 times in the tie and should have had a penalty. But it felt like Barca scored with 50% of their attacks. Messi was the difference between the sides.

Kante was an absolute beast tonight, I can’t see how Barca, Madrid and PSG wouldn’t be in for him.

Harry Palmr

Chelsea didn't score so would have gone out. This Barca side are hard to gauge, had they conceded in the third minute would they have ended up 3-0 down? Unlikely but just how much fight is in them?

Lukker-

Turtyturd wrote: »

That was enjoyable.

Fairly comfortable for Barca, people talking about Chelsea having a good game but they never really troubled Barca, and they could’ve upped their game if it looked like Chelsea were going to threaten them.

Chalk it up however you want. They still hit the post twice (4x in total). Barca couldn’t get going in large swathes and only really managed counters. If Chelsea had a top striker or a wing back who could cross, your looking a totallly different game. Barca’s defence and Messi carried them.

blueser

At least Chelsea showed a bit of willing. They've nothing to be ashamed of.

Panthro

Messi's the key difference between the two sides. He's magic.
Still though, Chelsea finally playing with a bit more bite to their game. Willian and Kante were sensational.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Lukker- wrote: »

Experience and game management saw Barcelona through. Chelsea hit the woodwork 4 times in the tie and should have had a penalty. But it felt like Barca scored with 50% of their attacks. Messi was the difference between the sides.

Kante was an absolute beast tonight, I can’t see how Barca, Madrid and PSG wouldn’t be in for him.

Yeah, I thought Chelsea gave a good account of themselves. Hit the post 4 times in th two games, and should have had a pen to make it 2:1 and Barca down to 10 men.
But they did make some bad mistakes and Messi punished them. It was La Liga’s best against the 5th best in the PL (with the manager probably going). It looked it as well overall.

lawred2

Lukker- wrote: »

Experience and game management saw Barcelona through. Chelsea hit the woodwork 4 times in the tie and should have had a penalty. But it felt like Barca scored with 50% of their attacks. Messi was the difference between the sides.

Kante was an absolute beast tonight, I can’t see how Barca, Madrid and PSG wouldn’t be in for him.

Thought Willian was the standout for Chelsea personally

beya2009

blueser wrote: »

At least Chelsea showed a bit of willing. They've nothing to be ashamed of.

Spot on. Chelsea are a good team. Man City performance probably just an off day.

lawred2

Chelsea should have treated Costa much better

osarusan

Thought Kante was good, thought Willian was excellent, always trying to drive the team forward. Felt sorry him that he didn't get the support from the attackers around him.

hullaballoo

Imagine sitting here talking about how good Barca were in defence. But they were. Umtiti has given them some serious credibility at the back. Pique has always been solid enough but he couldn't defend on his own.

I reckon Chelsea acquitted themselves well with the limited resources available. Although it's clear as day Conte, as good a coach as he is, is missing a bit of tactical nous.

GavRedKing

lawred2 wrote: »

Chelsea should have treated Costa much better

Its a two way street, he never wanted to be here and fought at every turn to go "home".

I couldn't care less about Costa after all his antics trying to leave but he's a fantastic Cf and one any team would miss.

Mr.Nice Guy

Apparently Valverde in an interview just now has said that match was Barca's most difficult game of the season.

McDave

lawred2 wrote: »

Chelsea should have treated Costa much better

No. Costa had 1.5 good seasons out of three. And he didn't deliver in the UCL.

Together we got two EPLs. But that was as good as it was going to get.

j8wk2feszrnpao

lawred2 wrote: »

Chelsea should have treated Costa much better

Costa wanted to go half way through the season when Chelsea were top and looking to win the league. He set the tone for his departure.

Turtwig

I thought Costa was pants for the last half of the season. He had to leave.

GavRedKing

Turtwig wrote: »

I thought Costa was pants for the last half of the season. He had to leave.

He had serious purple patches for us before Christmas and never hit the form after it.

Not down playing how vital he was for us, he won us two titles scoring 20 goals in each season, iirc, but he wanted to leave after his first season.

Atletico is his club and I don't think he ever wanted to leave but Mendes got his wish.

lawred2

Turtwig wrote: »

I thought Costa was pants for the last half of the season. He had to leave.

He had checked out at that stage

lawred2

Chelsea have some cracking players..

Willian, Kante, Alonso, Hazard are quality

But they are let down in defence and have little up front.

They put in a much better account of themselves tonight than United last night.

dfx-

highlight of the night being Messi's delight at Dembele's goal. Must be a huge boost for a young player adapting.

Barca in control surprisingly so for most of the night. Not Pep 2011 control but it doesn't have to be..

beya2009

I agree Costa had to go because of his antics. I heard that Conte had got fed up of him and hence the infamous text but apparently Conte was undermined by Abramovich as he wanted Costa to stay. Shame really as although I think Morata has done well in his first season in all fairness...it was always going to be hard for him pretty much having his first season as the 1 striker in a new league and Costa is a better striker that's for sure.

Sugarlumps

Willian & Kante were the standout performers, I think Kante lost the ball once? Chelsea played really well in places, let down by their keeper and limp attack. Bench isn't exactly full of game changers.

Lukker-

I found it really strange watching Barca play with a low defensive block. They also played long balls frequently when pressed themselves. I know tiki taka is long gone but that was the most unfamiliar system I’ve watched Barca play.

Untiti is a rock that said, he bailed Barca out many times. Cracking defender

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

I found it really strange watching Barca play with a low defensive block. They also played long balls frequently when pressed themselves. I know tiki taka is long gone but that was the most unfamiliar system I’ve watched Barca play.

Untiti is a rock that said, he bailed Barca out many times. Cracking defender

Before the penalty incident, Alonso was in one on one but Dembele tracked him and took it off his toe before he could shoot, it was another huge moment in the game and I was actually shocked to see him do that much defensive work actually.

SlickRic

if you put Messi in any of the top 4 teams left in the competition, he automatically makes them favourites.

Messi makes the treble attainable. They wouldn't get close otherwise.

Turtwig

Messi plus Ronaldo in the same team is kind of cheating.