Chelsea Hold Their Ground In Spain

Barcelona are to favourites to win the Champions League and take home the ultimate glory for a European club, and critics as well as fans had written off their English opposition saying that they were strong, but not strong enough. Still, there were a few distant voices that claimed that the Catalan crew had not been tested against a stern opposition just yet, even though they had just demolished German giants Bayern Munich.

The game began with the visitors pressing for dear life, as the Spaniards attacked well. But the Pensioners grew into the game very quickly, and began to thwart the Barca attack very well. The best opportunity of the first half came to Drogba, who would have certainly scored, but for two sensational saves by Valdes. As the teams went into the halftime break, the Blaugranes would have felt frustrated since their boys could not put one into the back of the net.

This was particularly worrying, since the last time that they were goalless in their own backyard was against English opposition last year, at the same stage of this competition. They came out with a renewed energy, but the resolute play by the London based club made sure that every attack was dealt with effectively. Petr Cech had a fantastic day at the office, as his save off a shot by Eto’o was instrumental in keeping Hiddink‘s men in the game.

As the referee blew the whistle, the Premier League club walked away with the advantage of playing on level terms at the second leg, which will be played at Stamford Bridge.