Ten Men Enough for Chelsea to Advance

Photo Credit: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

Chelsea came into today's UEFA Champions League semifinal with a 1-0 lead. Everyone expected the favorite Barcelona to roll over the Blues in the second leg at Camp Nou. Everything seemed to be going according to plan in the first half for Barcelona. They scored the first goal of the second leg on some beautiful  passing off a corner. Sergio Busquets was the goal scorer. Then, they caught a break when Chelsea captain John Terry made a foolish decision in the 37th minute. He thought he could get away with kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the hamstring, but the assistant referee spotted the blatant foul and Terry was immediately sent off with a red card. Terry complained, but the call was obvious, and Chelsea was left having to play with only ten players the rest of the way. Barcelona made them pay quickly for Terry's rash action. Some more nice passing led to a Andres Iniesta goal, which put the Spanish club up 2-0 in the second leg and 2-1 in the aggregate.

Things seemed to go further down hill for the Blues when Ramires picked up a yellow card for complaining, which meant he would miss the final if they made it. However, in the stoppage time of the first half, Ramires made amends for his mistake when he scored on a beautiful chip shot to pull Chelsea even on aggregate. The goal meant Chelsea would go through to the final if the score remained the same because the tiebreaker is away goals (which Chelsea gained as a result of the Ramires goal). That goal may have been exactly what Chelsea needed because they came out the second half focused and locked down defensively. That was until a crafty move by Barcelona forward Cesc Fabregas drew a penalty kick for Lionel Messi. Messi looked set to put Barca in the lead in the aggregate, until his blast ricocheted off the crossbar.

Barcelona kept their foot on the accelerator, seeking the goal they so desperately need. Petr Cech and the Chelsea defense refused to give in. In the 82nd minute, Barca looked like they had their goal, but Dani Alves was called just offsides. Only a minute later, they had another fabulous opportunity when Messi made a nice cut inside and let it rip. This time his shot struck the post. The opportunities continued for Barcelona into the stoppage time. Barca substitue Cristian Tello lost the ball in the Chelsea box, so the Blues cleared down field. Fernando Torres tracked it down and found space around him. He broke for the goal, dribbled around Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, and tapped it in for the sealing goal.

Chelsea could hardly contain their excitement after the final whistle blew. Viewers could hardly believe what they just witnessed. Despite having only ten men, being without their best defender, and playing at Camp Nou against the best club team in the world, Chelsea pulled off the improbable. They managed to come from behind, scored two goals, and kept Barcelona from scoring, despite being down a man since the 37th minute. Chelsea has a slew of imperative players suspended for the final, but they will cherish this unlikely upset win for today. For Barcelona, it is nothing but sheer disappointment. The best club team in the world fell to their rival Real Madrid in El Clasico over the weekend and have now been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by an undermanned sixth place EPL team. Both losses came at Camp Nou and are truly inexcusable. Barcelona had every opportunity they could ask for, but they could not put the ball in the net when they needed to against Chelsea. Chelsea should be commended for their valiant effort. They certainly deserve their spot in the UEFA Champions League final.

UEFA Champions League Group Action Reaction - 12/7/11

And then there were 16. Following today's results, the group stage of the UEFA Champions League has ended. The top two teams from each group advance. Let's take a look at some of the action and see who is advancing.

Manchester City 2 Bayern Munich 0 (Group A)

Manchester City has been leading the Premier League standings all year, but has struggled in the Champions League. They knew they would need some help to advance. Bayern Munich had already locked their place as the group winner prior to the game. Manchester City came out strong and netted two goals in a win over an under-strength Bayern Munich team. But it was too little, too late for Manchester City as Napoli beat last place Villarreal, who finished with zero points. Manchester City will have to wait for another chance to prove themselves, as they will be relegated to the second-tier Europa League.

Advancing from Group A: Bayern Munich and Napoli

CSKA Moscow 2 Internazionale 1 (Group B)

Group B may have had the most exciting finish of any group. Internazionale had already booked their spot in the Final 16 as the group winner, but the other three teams all had a shot at advancing. CSKA Moscow traveled to Italy to take on Internazionale, while Trabzonspor traveled to France to play Lille. In the latter game, second place Trabzonspor decided to stick to a defensively minded game hoping for some help from Internazionale in the other game. Trabzonspor goalkeeper Tolga Zengin held up his end of the bargain helping his team secure the 0-0 draw. This meant that CSKA Moscow needed a win to advance. Both teams had their share of opportunities, but halftime saw the teams scoreless. CSKA Moscow didn't waste much time in the second half before striking first blood though. Vagner Love made a nice cross from the right side that found the foot of Seydou Doumbia, who buried it in the bottom corner. Internazionale had the immediate answer though when Esteban Cambiasso scored the equalizer less than a minute later. Both teams had great opportunities, but this one seemed destined to be a draw. But then, CSKA Moscow drew a corner with three minutes to go. Substitute Aleksandrs Cauna took the corner. His ball in found the head of Vasili Berezutski who put it just past goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi's outstretched hand for the winner.

Advancing from Group B: Internazionale and CSKA Moscow

FC Basel 2 Manchester United 1 (Group C)

Manchester United was not supposed to be in this position, but all they needed was a draw against FC Basel. United remained confident heading to Switzerland for the match. The hosts put United in their place early on when Marco Streller put Basel up in the 9th minute. Manchester United didn't lack quality opportunities, but try as they might, they couldn't find the net. In the 84th minute, Basel finally gained some breathing room when Alexander Frei doubled their lead. Phil Jones cut the lead in half in the 89th minute, but Basel kept United from finding the equalizer. When the final whistle blew, the inconceivable happened as FC Basel got their greatest victory in club history. Manchester United's defensive lapses ultimately cost them the humiliation no one saw coming, regulation to the Europa League.

Advancing from Group C: Benfica and FC Basel

Lyon 7 Dinamo Zagreb 1 (Group D)

Lyon knew they would have to pour it on big time against last place Dinamo Zagreb in order to have a chance to advance. All second place Ajax Amsterdam had to do is get a draw against first place Real Madrid or just not surrender their huge goal differential lead. Real Madrid was up 2-0 at halftime. Lyon's hopes though seemed slim at halftime when they trailed lowly Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 at halftime. However, Lyon came out and went on a rampage scoring seven goals in the first thirty minutes of the second half. Bafetimbi Gomis netted four of those goals. This gave Lyon a shocking one goal lead in the tie-breaking goal differential. Ajax Amsterdam tried to find the net to stay alive, but Real Madrid forward Jose Maria Callejon put the final nail in the coffin. Lyon completed an incredible nine-goal swing to advance to the last 16.

Advancing from Group D: Real Madrid and Lyon

Chelsea 3 Valencia 0 (Group E)

Unlike fellow Premier foes Manchester City and Manchester United, Chelsea stepped up when it mattered the most. Chelsea needed a win over Valencia to advance. The Blues wasted little time as Didier Drogba started the scoring in the 3rd minute. Ramires doubled the lead in the 22nd minute. In the 76th minute, Drogba scored his second of the match for good measure. With Bayer Leverkusen's 1-1 draw against last place Racing Genk, Chelsea not only advanced, but managed to win the group.

Advancing from Group E: Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen

Marseille 3 Borussia Dortmund 2 (Group F)

Group F provided another thriller. Group winner Arsenal had already advanced, but the second place was up for grabs. Olympiakos showed they wanted the spot in a convincing 3-1 victory over Arsenal. The win looked like it would be enough as last place Borussia Dortmund had the lead 2-1 late over second place Marseille. However, in the 85th minute, Marseille midfielder Andre Ayew found the net for the equalizer. Two minutes later, Mathieu Valbuena put Marseille through to the last 16 for sure with the winning goal.

Advancing from Group F: Arsenal and Marseille

FC Porto 0 Zenit St Petersburg 0 (Group G)

With surprising Apoel Nicosia already having their ticket booked to advance, this game would decide who would advance with them. FC Porto needed a win to advance. Zenit St Petersburg made the long trip from Russia to Portugal knowing all they needed was a draw. As a result, they decided to stick to a defensively-minded strategy. FC Porto responded by pounding Zenit's goal with a barrage of shots. They had 24 total, including 8 on goal, but Zenit goalkeeper Viacheslav Malafeev stopped every one, becoming the hero of the 0-0 draw. Just like Apoel Nicosia, Zenit St Petersburg advanced to the last 16 for the first time ever.

Advancing from Group G: Apoel Nicosia and Zenit St Petersburg

Nothing of importance happened in the final two games of Group H. Barcelona had already locked up their position as group winner, and AC Milan was already secured as the runner up.

Advancing from Group H: Barcelona and AC Milan

Now, we have to wait until February 14, 2012 for the Round of 16 to begin. Keep an eye on these teams as they return to league play.

Managers' reactions to FC's Basel's "David over Goliath" Victory: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000263/match=2007661/postmatch/quotes/index.html