CHELSEA-FCB

Guardiola: "This is a great challenge, one worthy of a Champions League semi-final”

The manager is hopeful that his team will be able to create the same amount of goalscoring chances next week at the Camp Nou

Guardiola is convinced that the Camp Nou faithful won’t abandon their team and that his players are up to the task of overturning today’s adverse result. “I know that they will give it their all to get to the final,” he said

The manager believes that, given the level of play his team have played at for so long, “getting to this point in the season is a success.” He added: “We’ve already won this year”

Josep Guardiola is convinced that if his team are to make it to the Champions League final in Munich, Barça will have to play a perfect game at the Camp Nou next Tuesday. The manager views the upcoming match as “a great challenge, one worthy of a Champions League semi-final.” Guardiola said that he’s proud of the performance his players put in at Stamford Bridge and that his team went into the match “to play the best way possible, where they never lost the desire to score.” Whatever happens from now on out, the manager said that his team “have already won this year” after playing at such a high level for so long. “Getting to this point is a success within itself,” he said.

Guardiola went on to say that he's convinced that Barça fans won’t forsake their team next week. He also warned that his players are up to the task of fighting back in the tie: “it doesn’t matter how the players feel right now. I know that they will give it their all to get to the final and that the people will come and support us on Saturday and Tuesday. We’ll try to succeed.”

“Chelsea will come and wait for their moment”

When asked what type of game he expects from the English side in the return leg, Guardiola said, “I don’t think Chelsea will come out to attack or pressure us high up the pitch, I do anticipate 10 players in the area waiting to counterattack. They’ll probably bide their time and wait for their moment. We cannot forget that Chelsea, with very little, create a lot of danger, and they do it very well. We’ll have to find the way to score goals.”

Waiting for the ball to go in 

Ahead of the match at the Camp Nou, Guardiola highlighted the importance of scoring, something that didn’t happen this Wednesday despite Barça’s 24 attempts. “We’ll try to find alternatives to complete a comeback. It won’t be easy, especially with 10 players in the area. We’ll need inspiration and patience to find the way to turn this around,” he said. He added: “the challenge is to shoot 24 times next Tuesday and score a goal. We need to be patient and ambitious. I don’t know if there are many other teams that have shot 24 times away from home.”

Chelsea - FC Barcelona: Tuesday set for fightback (1-0)

A goal from Drogba on the stroke of half time sentenced Barça to defeat in a game where they were the the better team and leaves them needing to pull back from 1-0 in next week’s second leg at the Camp Nou

Nobody ever said it would be easy to get to the Munich final. Barça went down to a single goal at Stamford Bridge, despite hitting the post twice and restricting the hosts to a single shot on target – Drogba’s goal on the stroke of half time. Guardiola’s team dictated the pace and the rhythm of the game, dominating possession and creating plenty of chances, but the packed Chelsea defence, the posts and an inspired Cech somehow kept them out.

The result means Barça will have to come from behind at the Camp Nou next Tuesday night if they want to reach the Munich final and it should be a perfect night to put right the injustice of a result that this evening in London failed to reflect their superiority.

No prize despite domination

Barça took control from the kick off and soon had Chelsea pinned back in their own half, with the Londoners defending with four at the back, a line of five across the middle and only Drogba up front. On 10 minutes, Alexis set the tone of the night, when after a great pass from Iniesta, his clever chip came back off the bar with Cech well beaten.

Drogba makes his mark

It was one way traffic for most of the first half, as Barça patiently probed the Chelsea ramparts, keeping hold of possession and looking to pounce on any opportunity. The chances were coming, with Cesc missing a couple of great opportunities with his left peg. Chelsea were always looking to attack on the break though and in injury time they got their reward as Ramires broke down the left and crossed for Drogba who bundled the ball past Valdes. It was a cruel blow for Barça who had been by far the better team throughout the first 45 minutes.

Goals just wouldn’t come

Little changed after the break, as Barça laid siege to the hosts’ area, whilst Chelsea were prepared to sit back and defend en masse. Alexis came close and Puyol forced a brilliant save from Cech, before in injury time Pedro hit the post and Busquets smashed the rebound high over the Chelsea bar and into the celebrating home fans in the stand. Tuesday will be another game and Barça must hope that their luck will surely turn.