The Bridge is Over

We are now basking in the aftermath of what ended up being a very memorable night in Stamford Bridge. This game had a little bit of everything. Some remarkable goals and end to end attacking football. For 80 plus minutes Chelsea pressured a clearly weakened Barça team on this most memorable of European nights. But after a host of bad calls by the referee on both sides Barça triumphed with an equalizing goal in the 93^rd minute of the match, whilst finishing the game with 10 men.

Someone once said that winning is easy, but you see a person’s true colours when they lose. If this is true, then Chelsea’s fans and players are some of the ugliest around. Their reactions after the equalizing goal were unbelievable. Throughout the match Barça was on the receiving side of many a questionable call. On many of Pique’s forages into the opposing half calls were made against him that clearly were not fouls. Dani Alves’ yellow card was no worst than any of the clear intent fuelled fouls that Chelsea were dishing out to the technically gifted Barcelona players. Eric Abidal’s red card was at the height of the referee’s gaffes. After a well played through ball by Lampard, Anelka under the watchful eye of Abidal tripped on his foot and fell over. What ensued is beyond the understanding of all spectators and players (except Chelsea’s of course). Abidal was shown a straight red card for this ‘infringement’. So Barça were left with the task of playing with 10 men for the better part of the last 30 minutes. To be fair to Chelsea, pique’s handball in the box was a clear slip by the referee, but they can’t see that and turn a blind eye to everything else.

The referees’ jobs weren’t made any easier by the theatrics of these London stars. Drogba, who can easily be seen as a wrestler in another life spent way too much time smelling the grass rather than staying on his feet and playing football. It’s as if he is programmed to ‘fall’ whenever he feels a defensive presence on him. Anelka is another unscrupulous player. Unlike Arshevin last week against Portsmouth, who complained to the referee after he was given an unfair penalty (he should get some award for this), Anelka simply smirked when the red card was shown to Abidal. The sight of the Chelsea players surrounding the referee threateningly to try to muscle a penalty from him was disgraceful. Remember how Barça reacted to the clear penalty call in the Nou Camp after the foul on Iniesta? Barça played on. That is class.

At the end of the day, Chelsea just was not good enough. Over the two legs of this tie they were not good enough to put the tie to rest. It’s not the referee’s fault that Drogba choked on the big stage this year. It’s not the referee’s fault that you all lost the penalty shootout last year. The blame for this falls squarely in the laps of all those beloved Chelsea players and not on the referees that you turn to scapegoats. Year after year Chelsea proves to the observing public that they aren’t a team that has any real European pedigree. They ARE the great pretenders of Europe.

As for the Chelsea fans that back this big money club, that continues to disappoint on big stages, suck it up. Winning isn’t everything. There are lessons to be gained in losing. I went an entire week of hearing Chelsea fans talk about their obvious dominance over La Blaugrana. Calling Barça a ‘shilling team’. Laughing at the team after the 0-0 in the Nou Camp. Laughing at the complaints of physicality that Barça made after the first leg.

“I do not understand why they are complaining,” Drogba told AS.

This is in stark contrast to,

“This is a f***ing disgrace!”

Come on Chelsea; accept that your side is good but just not good enough. Next season you can go back Manchester City, they probably have more money than Chelsea now, and their colours are also blue so you don’t have to spend a lot on new uniforms. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

But my condolences to the family of that Arsenal fan that took his life.