The other games today - 2008/09

[Mike]

I can sympathize with Drogba though. I'm happy Barca are going through but what the fuck does Chelsea have to do to get a penalty.

 

Most of those calls weren't even borderline, they were blatantly obvious pens.

 

What the fuck? The Pique handball and maybe the challenge by Alves on Malouda. That's it. The rest of them really weren't.

 

That's still two penalties!

 

Yes, yes. I'm not going to argue that Chelsea didn't deserve the pens, of course they did. But if they had actually come out to play and tried to score, they probably would have because Barca's defense were very leaky tonight. But they didn't. They scored one and sat back, inviting Barca to play in their half and eventually they got punished. End of. Chelsea can fuck off. Now Barca will have Puyol and Henry back for the final, Keita can sit on the bench again and their midfield and starting trio will all start. Good shit. What a good day.

 

It's a great day. Chelsea flame out in the most spectacular fashion possible, and Kobe will drop 50 tonight.

[oldtype]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a f***ing disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

I'd be shocked if you ever saw that ref again. I'd probably be furious if I were a Chelsea fan.

 

As mentioned, he's already ready for the 2010 WC.

 

A couple of Abramovich's "buddies" might be ready to have a word with him on his way to the airport...

[Mike]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a fucking disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

I'd be shocked if you ever saw that ref again. I'd probably be furious if I were a Chelsea fan.

 

As mentioned, he's already ready for the 2010 WC.

 

Man...he's so bad I hope he does USA matches. We could make it to the final with him running around.

[Guest fraser]

Quite simply, the most inept display of refeering one could ever dread to see. Don't like Chelsea but it felt as though Platini was refereeing it.

[Big Geordie]

A victory for real football tonight, IMO. Refreshing to see something not going Chelsea's way for once. Also, Terry, Ballack and Drogba (apparently) all a disgrace. It's what you come to expect with them though.

[TaylorJ_01]

606 should be funny tonight.

[DJ_NUFC]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

[Mike]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a f***ing disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

Only 1 of them was clear imo.

 

You could argue that the 50-50 between Alves and Malouda as well. If you're going to call that a foul, at least call it where it occured.

[DJ_NUFC]

The Pique one was a clear penalty. The rest were bollocks.

[ElDiablo]

[Guest natolars]

I hate Norway. We should hire foreign refs to ref in our leagues.

 

Yes, we should. I remember Øvrebø gifting Rosenborg a goal at Alfheim earlier this season...

[Teasy]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a f***ing disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

Only 1 of them was clear imo.

 

Pique's hand ball was a clear pen, the pull on Drogba's shirt was a clear pen, no idea about the others as I haven't seen them.

[Guest fraser]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

 

Defending intelligently can be done as beautifully as attacking.

 

Watch another sport.

[TaylorJ_01]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

 

Fair enough if they played better football. Doesn't mean they deserve to win. Chelsea deserved to win because they were blatantly refused 2 clear penalties.

[Guest BooBoo]

I still find Ruud boys accent incredibly irritating.

[Kaizero]

I hate Norway. We should hire foreign refs to ref in our leagues.

 

Yes, we should. I remember Øvrebø gifting Rosenborg a goal at Alfheim earlier this season...

 

Rosenborg deserve every single goal they get.

[Teasy]

How can holding on to a players shirt to drag them away from the ball in the penalty area not be a pen?

[DJ_NUFC]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

 

Defending intelligently can be done as beautifully as attacking.

 

Watch another sport.

 

Very impersonal, thanks.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Can't believe some folks in here tbh. Chelsea only deserved two or three penaslties ffs. They only needed one goal! Not to mention the red card was awful too. Referee had an extreme effect in the game.

[Mistle17]

For the sake of football I'm just glad that Barca and Man Utd will be facing eachother in the final.

 

Plus, it means that Roman's dirty money wont be getting its hands on the Champions League.

[Taylor Swift]

most undeserved victory ever 

 

No way, dude. Barca have been the better team over the two legs. Chelsea scored one magnificent goal but never made any attempt to attack. Barca have played excellent football and as a football fan, I'm so glad that Barca have scored a goal that they thoroughly deserved.

 

what!? Barca had one shot on goal and in the 92nd minute! completely dominated by chelsea, messi, etoo etc were all shit. had their forwards been switched on and had the ref given the pen decisions they would've been a fair few goals clear. in the first leg barca were the better team but chelsea's defending was class which is just as much a part of the game as attacking and in the 2nd leg no contest. but you don't go through based on performances.

 

Bossing it meaning let the other team play in your half? Come on, man. Valdes had two saves to make (drogba freekick and drogba 1v1), so it's not like they peppered his goal, is it? They probably deserved one or two penalties (not the 5 or 10 that they were whining about) but hey, if that's what they were relying on then tough luck for them. Maybe they should actually try and score a few goals the next time around. Football won today, there's no doubt about that. Even though Chelsea defended magnificently over these two legs, good defending alone doesn't win you anything.

 

had they been more clinical and had the ref given the right decisions they couldve ran riot and demolished them, whereas iniesta's goal is basically the first real chance barca had all match. cant do much about the ref but finishing is part of the game so they can only blame themselves. wouldnt really say it is a victory for football as barcelona were terrible, very, very poor, though i think the final will now be more entertaining as a result.

 

The referee thing, I agree with you. Chelsea would have won this tie if the referee did his job (including not sending off Abidal). But Chelsea 'demolishing' Barca? Agree to disagree. I thought Chelsea played a counter-attacking game but created only one real chance (Drogba's 1v1). The rest of their counter-attacks weren't dangerous, none of their shots troubled Valdes and they rarely had sustained possession within Barca's half. That, to me, says a lot about whether you can say that Chelsea bossed the game or not. I thought Barca passed the ball well enough, but lacked movement and the final ball in the final third of the pitch. But they still controlled the pace of the game and had much, much more of the possession. They weren't as dangerous as they normally are but to that I'll give Chelsea a lot of credit because their defenders were always able to usher any Barca player near the penalty area into a safer zone. It was a pretty even game imo and each team scored an awesome goal. The better team over the two legs, in my opinion, went through.

[Guest fraser]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

 

Defending intelligently can be done as beautifully as attacking.

 

Watch another sport.

 

Very impersonal, thanks.

 

Basketball, as a suggestion.

[DJ_NUFC]

I don't know which match some of you were watching, but there was only one team over the two legs who was playing football and trying to win and they waved the Catalan flag.

 

If someone has possession and area statistics, not that they mean much, it'd show also how many times Chelsea actually got out of their own halves to look for a win.

 

Barca deserves to win this. Chelsea defended well but it was like watchin Bolton or Pompey do their thing: there were two blue shirts surrounding a yellow one each time.

 

Defending intelligently can be done as beautifully as attacking.

 

Watch another sport.

 

Very impersonal, thanks.

 

Basketball, as a suggestion.

 

I play the pocket-version all day, thank you very much. And you're right, it's fuckin' exciting.

[Guest kingdawson]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a f***ing disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

 

Only 1 of them was clear imo.

 

You could argue that the 50-50 between Alves and Malouda as well. If you're going to call that a foul, at least call it where it occured.

 

Pique's handball was a clear pen imo. Drogba threw himself on the floor, the Malouda incident was outside the box, and the Eto'o handball was clearly not a pen.

[Dave]

I don't like Chelsea but Drogba was right, that was a f***ing disgrace.

 

To not give 3 clear pens plus another good shout for one.... that ref is either a cheat or way out of his depth.

 

 

Only 1 of them was clear imo.

 

You could argue that the 50-50 between Alves and Malouda as well. If you're going to call that a foul, at least call it where it occured.

 

Pique's handball was a clear pen imo. Drogba threw himself on the floor, the Molouda incident was outside the box, and the Eto'o handball was clearly not a pen.