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.