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By Greg Robertson
Barcelona V Chelsea, Leg 2 Champions League 2012… Hello and welcome to Camp Nou where we have a mouth-watering match in prospect. It’s Champions League football at its best with Barcelona sure to be streaming forward in an effort to overturn the 1-0 deficit to Chelsea after the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Away goals will come into play here. Lionel Messi – can he get time on the ball? Will Barcelona get the chance to go back-to-back? Three losses in a row for Barcelona would almost be unheard of. All Chelsea need is a clean sheet here.
We bring you live Leg 2 video action of all the best bits, commentary and goals galore as they happen and minute by minute. Make sure you refresh your browser occasionally and we’ll warn you with a ‘video up’ when highlights have been added to the video player.
NB: Video for this article has been removed in accordance with our right’s usage agreement after a period of time.
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LIVE COMMENTARY… FINAL Barcelona 2 – 2 Chelsea, Agg 2-3
IT'S ALL OVER - CHELSEA ARE THROUGH!!!
91 mins: Torres scores! Torres scores! Chelsea are through! Video up soon.
88 mins: Meireles booked and he'll miss the final now for Chelsea if they go through. Mascherano with the shot but Cech down to it and pushes it behind for a corner.
84 mins: It's war on the Chelsea goal and the 10 keep running and running and running and chasing. A wall of white is the last English hope in this year's Champions League and they are standing tall!
82 mins: GOAL Barcelona... no goal, no goal... Alves caught off side after Messi slips him through and it's hammered home. Video up. Messi off the post! Video up.
81 mins: Barcelona can't find a way through. The Chelsea 10 are playing like heroes.
78 mins: Busquets has a mile of time but doesn't realise it, snaps at one as he rushes it and it shoots over the top. Drogba off and Torres on for Chelsea.
75 mins: Exasperation for Barcelona as Chelsea scrambles everything away. Desperation is just around the corner.
73 mins: Shots raining in and Chelsea are blocking everything - throwing themselves in front of the ball as they are fired at goal. Fabregas off.
71 mins: Lampard in on Fabregas.... and it's just a yellow. Poor challenge and for a moment there it looked like the red card was coming out.
70 mins: Barcelona back to probing, trying to open up the staunch Chelsea defence but here is very few ways through. Messi booked, and that highlights the frustration for Los Blancos.
66 mins: Chelsea setting up with two defensive - narrow - line against Barcelona and they just need to get through 25-odd minutes and Chelsea is through to the Champions League final. Barcelona with changes - Keita for Cuenca.
64 mins: Ivanovic wins the header from the corner when Valdes came but didn't get there. Never went near goal but that just shows - Barcelona can be beaten and Chelsea is like a dog with a bone at the moment and won't let go of it.
62 mins: Cuenca with a chance but Cech gets down and saves well, spreading. Video up.
58 mins: Drogba with an effort from halfway trying to catch Valdes off his line. Video up.
55 mins: Well, it's all Barca and if Chelsea are going to go through then it will be Cech in goal that gets them there. Free header for Sanchez at the back post but it's the wrong side of the post. Video up. What a semifinal this is. Mata is off and Kalou on.
47 mins: PENALTY Barcelona! Drogba brings down Fabregas and the ref Cakir points to the spot. Messi steps up... HITS THE CROSSBAR!!! Oh my. Video up.
HALFTIME 2-1 to Barcelona, 2-2 aggregate, Chelsea going through so far on away goals
45 mins: Goal Ramires. He was put through and chipped Valdes. Video up.
43 mins: Iniesta GOAL! Messi put him away and he slotted it past the advancing Cech. Video up.
40 mins: The 10-men all behind the ball for Chelsea.
36 mins: JOHN TERRY HAS BEEN SENT OFF! Something off the ball. Something to do with Alexis Sanchez. Oh, just a knee in the back. Nothing. Video up. That was just for a knee in the back-ish. Yellow card at best.
35 mins: This is like a dam waiting to burst. Fabregas wins a corner from Meireles. GOAL Barcelona! Busquets scores. Video up. Fabregas squared the ball and Busquets just tapped it in.
32 mins: Mikel booked for Chelsea for bringing down Alexis Sanchez. No intent at going for the ball. deserved the card. Fabregas overhits his pass when having the chance to slip Iniesta in.
30 mins: Xavi with a strike from a fair way out that comes off Lampard for the corner. Barcelona goes short and Iniesta shoots across the face of goal with Cech comfortable to just watch that one go by.
29 mins: There just isn't a lot of room for Barca to work in in the attacking third of the pitch with Chelsea getting bodies behind the ball.
PIQUE coming off and DANI ALVES is on. Pep Guardiola took one look at how easy that was for Drogba and dragged the groggy Pique from the park.
26 mins: Drogba around Pique and into the side netting. Is Pique okay after that head clash. That was too easy for Drogba. Video up.
23 mins: Hopeful effort from Didier Drogba as he scoop, hooks the ball from behind him just outside the penalty area - sails high over the top but Chelsea will continue to have a crack when they get their chances as they are few and far between.
22 mins: Mascherano smacks one from distance but it's over the top. Barcelona pushing the ball about and then suddenly the space opened up for Mascherano as the Chelsea players hung off.
19 mins: BEAUTIFUL football from Barcelona and Messi should have scored. Breath-taking football but Cech gets down and saves with his legs. fabregas gave the return flick to Messia. Stunning stuff. Video up.
15 mins: Valdes, Pique and Drogba clash. Pique being checked if he's knocked out. Oh my that was nasty. Video up.
13 mins: Barcelona playing football square just outside the penalty box. Probing right then switching back along the box to the left, then right again. No way through just yet. WE'LL GET MORE HIGHLIGHTS UP AS THEY OCCUR.
12 mins: Wave after wave of Barcelona attack. They are working it into position and you feel that the breakthrough can't be far away. Only the one real chance so far. Cahill is coming off and Boswinga on - huge blow for Chelsea but it's Bosingwa's 63rd appearance in this competition so he has the goods.
10 mins: Iniesta with a little chip and if not for Cole then Barca would have scored back post - the defender intercepting. This is a landslide. The whole Chelsea team within 25 yards of the goal.
Boswinga all ready to go on the sideline but he's sat back down. The England international defender Gary Cahill is desperate to continue.
8 mins: Cech claims after some pretty football from the home side. Chelsea - aside from the first minute of the game - hasn't been given a look in. All the ball has been with Barca.
6 mins: Sanchez gets behind Chelsea with an angle ball and Cahill is forced to over-stretch to clean up. Ouch... he may have done a hamstring. Trying to run it off.
Referee has been very hot on the whistle - any sort of contact and it's being blown up.
3 mins: OHHHH Messi breaks through and he's on his right foot and as Camp Nou expects the breakthrough Messi hits the side netting. Bad miss for Messi as he sliced the ball. Video up.
2 mins: Messi to Xavi and Xavi tries to weight his ball over the top to Sanchez trying to get behind the visiting defence but it skips off the surface to Cech.
1 mins: Cole tries to slip in Ramires for Chelsea. A little less weight on the pass and it would have been a golden Chelsea start. Clash of the two number 10s as Messi brings down Mata.
Puyol and Terry shake hands and we're set for a kick off. What a turn-around under Di Matteo for Chelsea but their task is enormous despite the 1-0 first leg lead - they are up against Barcelona who is a wounded animal. Whistle has gone - game on!
Here come the teams - flags waving at Camp Nou as this one is beautifully poised.
Just minutes away from the teams walking out onto Nou Camp... something about this ground, eh? It's like... you're in football heaven.
Chelsea's Robert Di Matteo: "We will have a slightly different approach tonight because we think we will need a goal to go through. The Barcelona team will have plenty of rotation and fluidity in midfield. We need a top performance tonight, we need to maintain the ball when we get it and make sure we're a threat when we have the ball well. I'm not sure it's a good time to play them, the best teams deal with the setbacks. But we are in good spirits"
Kick off is 15 minutes to the hour.
Here are the official teams:
Barcelona: Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Mascherano, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Cuenca, Messi, Sanchez, Fabregas.
Subs: Pinto, Dani Alves, Thiago, Keita, Pedro, Adriano, Tello.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Meireles, Mata, Lampard, Ramires, Drogba.
Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Torres, Malouda, Bosingwa, Kalou, Sturridge.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)
Well here we go ladies and gentlemen - can Chelsea and Cech keep Barcelona at bay? You get the feeling that Messi under wraps for three consecutive games is going to be a tough ask. Getting live pictures in a couple of minutes.
Kick off is not far away so in the meantime watch action for Leg One.
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Teams
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Cole, Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic; Lampard, Mikel, Ramires; Mata, Torres, Kalou.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdés; Puyol, Mascherano, Pique, Alves; Fàbregas, Busquets, Xavi; Iniesta, Messi, Alexis.
Pregame banter
Spanish giants Barcelona not only have to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit when they face Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
They also have to recover from a disappointing 2-1 home defeat in La Liga at the hands of Real Madrid, which virtually handed the title to their arch rivals.
Even the mighty Barcelona appear to be feeling the effects of a long and arduous season, as they have just lost consecutive matches for the first time in almost three years and surrendered a 54-game unbeaten run at home.
However, any neutral would have thought Barcelona unlucky not to win last week in London against Chelsea and they will be hot favourites again in the second leg, especially as it is played at the Nou Camp.
Coach Pep Guardiola said on the eve of the match that he was more than confident of making it to the final at Bayern Munich's home ground, the Allianz Arena; "Of course I have no doubt we will play in Munich."
Barcelona's talismanic Argentine, Lionel Messi, has scored no fewer than 63 goals this season, but failed to find the net either against Chelsea or against Real at the weekend.
Guardiola rejected suggestions that Messi might also be feeling a little jaded.
"Let's allow him to be happy on the pitch so he can do what he has always done," he added.
Guardiola can at least count on Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique to be fresh after neither played against Real in 'El Clasico'.
'Barca' know that Tuesday's prize is a third Champions League final in four years.
Chelsea stand on the brink of a second appearance in a Champions League final - all Roberto Di Matteo's men have to do is keep a clean sheet in the second leg of their semi-final against the holders Barcelona.
That might seem a tall order against a free-scoring Barcelona side boasting the talents of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
Indeed, on the first leg's run of play, Barca might have won 3-1, but Chelsea's narrow win and Barcelona's subsequent 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga at the weekend - one which virtually surrendered the league title to their arch rivals - meant that Barca lost two games in a row for the first time in almost three years.
Couple that with the fact that Barcelona could only afford to make two changes for the Madrid game - Di Matteo had the luxury of swapping eight players for Saturday's 0-0 draw at Arsenal in the Premier League - and fatigue could come to Chelsea's aid on Tuesday night.
Di Matteo acknowledged that successful sides need that little piece of good fortune to see them through difficult situations.
"As we've seen in the past, you do need a little bit of luck on your side to be... to win a competition like this," the interim Chelsea boss said on the eve of the return match.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech said he's been waiting eight years for a Champions League-winning medal and this might just be Chelsea's year.
The London side certainly have the advantage and if Cech remains unbeaten, the underdogs will go through.
However, given the way the first leg played out, Chelsea might have used up all their luck at Stamford Bridge last week.
The winner of today’s game will face either Bayern Munich or Madrid in the final on May 19th.
Madrid play host to the German side, hoping to come back from a 2-1 reverse in their first leg.
3 News/AP
source: newshub archive
