Chelsea vs Barcelona- Champions League Semi-Final Leg 2

I was going to discuss how Kansas City is the biggest fair weather town in the nation, but I will get there later.

After a dreadfully boring first leg Barcelona came to Stamford Bridge. A great piece of defending by Barca was finished off by a once in a life time strike by Michael Essien. The wonderful volley from the Ghanaian midfielder pinged under the bar past Victor Valdez in the 9th minute. After the goal Chelsea returned to their old strategy and sat in front of the goal. It seemed as though they would be able to salt away the next 81 minutes setting up a Champions League Final rematch with Manchester United in Rome. It took 93 minutes before the Catalans were able to even get a shot to Petr Chech's goal. One was all they needed. Andreas Iniesta smashed a 20-yard strike past Chech only 2 minutes from time. Iniesta, in my opinion, was the best player over the two legged tie. Iniesta was the only player on either side that showed any imagination over the 180 minutes. Any attacking prowess Barcelona showed was initiated by Iniesta.

What is lost in all of this is the performance from referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. Ovrebo sent off Eric Abidal in the 66th minute for his apparent trip of Nikolas Anelka. On first viewing I thought it was the correct decision. After seeing the replay it looked like there was no contact between the two. What Chelsea and I don't agree with is his refusal to give a penalty for a clear hand ball by Gerard Pique. I will admit that I was supporting Barcelona, but it was an obvious hand ball. The ensuing PK would have surely put the game out of Barcas reach.

Overall, I think that Barcelona's advance was the fair result. Chelsea never looked like they wanted to attack, and they got what they deserved. I will be looking forward to the Barcelona and Manchester United final in Rome on May 27th.