Many of us would be drooling over the next set of fixtures in the UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 campaign, but impudent display of football from Chelsea side in the second leg of quarter-final against Benfica raises some serious questions about Chelsea. Chelsea managed to clinch the game with a win margin of 2-1 against a 10-men Benfica side that looked to deliver much more than it was supposed to.
Benfica started the game strong with immaculate passing of the ball, throwing as many men towards the Chelsea goal. One could say that Chelsea were lucky to survive the influx of attempts towards the goal from a determined Benfica side, who had lost in the earlier leg by a scoreline of 0-1.
The first break for Chelsea came when they were awarded a penalty by the referee for bringing down Ashley Cole in the box. Ever reliable Frank Lampard stood up to take the penalty and saw the ball go past underneath Benfica's goal-keeper. Chelsea were up by 1-0 and cruising in the fixture.
Maxi Pereira was shown a second yellow card on the 40th minute mark by the referee for his tackle on Jon Obi Mikel. Soon after the dismissal of Maxi Pereira, people saw life fade away from the game. For the next 40 minutes, crowd were subjected to a Chelsea side that showed no intentions of taking advantage of a deprived Benfica side. Chelsea only had a countable number of attempts to goal, but every attempt was futile as they failed to score again that would have sealed the victory.
On the other hand, Benfica showed promise and persistence to go for a miraculous victory. Eventually they were rewarded by a goal from a corner that was netted in by Javi Garcia. Fans could have literally cut the tension with a knife in the nervous moments of the match 5 minutes from time. Chelsea fans were hoping and praying hard for Benfica not to score again, as it would have eliminated Chelsea out of the cup and shattered their hopes for this year as well. Raul Meireles ran the entire length of the field after the ball was cleared off Benfica's free kick, as he turned out to be the messiah on this occasion by scoring the much awaited cushion goal in the dying minutes of the match to send Chelsea safely into the next round.
Chelsea now face the reigning champions, Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League campaign. As mouth-watering as it appears, Chelsea must dig deep into their reservoir if they are to salvage anything from this fixture. Barcelona have always carried a 'Cyclop' like figure in the football world and overcoming them would mean playing at a potential you are much more capable of. Chelsea would face Barcelona at home on 18th April 2012 and away on 24th April 2012. It remains to see what Pep Guardiola and his Barcelona boys have in store for Roberto di Matteo's Chelsea side.
Chelsea player analysis:
Fernando Torres - Torrid, Sloppy, Indecisive
Juan Mata - Good Passing, Flair, Non-clinical strikes
Ramires - Good runs, Missed a wonderful opportunity in the match
Frank Lampard - Excellent passing, Excellent control of the ball, Converted the penalty
Jon Obi Mikel - Oblivious, Earned a Benfica red-card
Salomon Kalou - Poor dribbling, Left flank weakend
Branislav Ivanovic - Good clearance, Held the right-back flank very well
John Terry - Strong defence, Good marking
David Luiz - Good defence, cheeky clearances, Gave away ball at times
Ashley Cole - Good runs in the left-flank, Earned the penalty
Benfica started the game strong with immaculate passing of the ball, throwing as many men towards the Chelsea goal. One could say that Chelsea were lucky to survive the influx of attempts towards the goal from a determined Benfica side, who had lost in the earlier leg by a scoreline of 0-1.
The first break for Chelsea came when they were awarded a penalty by the referee for bringing down Ashley Cole in the box. Ever reliable Frank Lampard stood up to take the penalty and saw the ball go past underneath Benfica's goal-keeper. Chelsea were up by 1-0 and cruising in the fixture.
Maxi Pereira was shown a second yellow card on the 40th minute mark by the referee for his tackle on Jon Obi Mikel. Soon after the dismissal of Maxi Pereira, people saw life fade away from the game. For the next 40 minutes, crowd were subjected to a Chelsea side that showed no intentions of taking advantage of a deprived Benfica side. Chelsea only had a countable number of attempts to goal, but every attempt was futile as they failed to score again that would have sealed the victory.
On the other hand, Benfica showed promise and persistence to go for a miraculous victory. Eventually they were rewarded by a goal from a corner that was netted in by Javi Garcia. Fans could have literally cut the tension with a knife in the nervous moments of the match 5 minutes from time. Chelsea fans were hoping and praying hard for Benfica not to score again, as it would have eliminated Chelsea out of the cup and shattered their hopes for this year as well. Raul Meireles ran the entire length of the field after the ball was cleared off Benfica's free kick, as he turned out to be the messiah on this occasion by scoring the much awaited cushion goal in the dying minutes of the match to send Chelsea safely into the next round.
Chelsea now face the reigning champions, Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League campaign. As mouth-watering as it appears, Chelsea must dig deep into their reservoir if they are to salvage anything from this fixture. Barcelona have always carried a 'Cyclop' like figure in the football world and overcoming them would mean playing at a potential you are much more capable of. Chelsea would face Barcelona at home on 18th April 2012 and away on 24th April 2012. It remains to see what Pep Guardiola and his Barcelona boys have in store for Roberto di Matteo's Chelsea side.
Chelsea player analysis:
Fernando Torres - Torrid, Sloppy, Indecisive
Juan Mata - Good Passing, Flair, Non-clinical strikes
Ramires - Good runs, Missed a wonderful opportunity in the match
Frank Lampard - Excellent passing, Excellent control of the ball, Converted the penalty
Jon Obi Mikel - Oblivious, Earned a Benfica red-card
Salomon Kalou - Poor dribbling, Left flank weakend
Branislav Ivanovic - Good clearance, Held the right-back flank very well
John Terry - Strong defence, Good marking
David Luiz - Good defence, cheeky clearances, Gave away ball at times
Ashley Cole - Good runs in the left-flank, Earned the penalty
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