Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona - Clash of the Titans

Overall, the match did not live up to previous encounters between these sides, but it was still exciting as always. Surprisingly, Barca did not dominate posession with Chelsea waiting to counter - it was Chelsea who largely controlled the match, particularly in the second half when Drogba scored the winner and the Blues created many more scoring chances.

Pretty great defense by Chelsea, especially in the 2nd half when they smothered Barca in the midfield. Bouhlaroz was outstanding - he just shut down Ronaldinho and reduced him to Whineldinho. You knew the Dutch defender was going to have a blinder as soon as Tommy Smyth questioned why Mourinho had played him.

Credit to 3rd string goalkeeper Hilario - nothing outstanding, but he was sure-handed when tested. Easier said than done for someone who hadn't seen first team action in some time, and was suddenly thrown in to face one of the most potent attacks in Europe.

Messi was troubling Cashley Cole down the right in the 1st half, but Rykaard had him swap sides for large parts of the second half. I think he was trying to free up Ro, but nothing seemed to work for the Brazilian today. The attack really missed Eto'o, as Gujohnsen's Barca teammates seemed reluctant to use him before he totally disappeared in the 2nd half. Also, Deco offered nothing.

Drogba was my Man o the Match (edging out a flawless Boulharoz) for providing a moment of perfection with a graceful settle, turn (to send Puyol flying the other way), and wicked finish. I thought he might not play the 2nd half after receiving a tough shot to the head - he looked woozy for a while. But he returned, scored the winner, and then (as usual) became one of Chelsea's most valuable defender/posession holders to ice the game.

Drogba is really announcing himself as one of the world's top strikers. I already thought he was maybe top 15 in the world, but many pundits felt he did not have the clinical scoring consistency to merit that rating. I thought with the all chances he created with his strength and tireless endeavor (as well as great defending, partic in own box on corner kicks) and PKs earned for Lampard's account, he was underrated. Now with the quantity and quality of his strikes this year, and a reduction in his theatrics, Drogba is quickly moving up the list of the world's best strikers and replacing Lampard to join Terry as the heart and soul of the Chelsea squad.

Further, Drgoba has picked up the slack for the officially out-of-form Shevchenko, who really had a weak match. Though he hadn't been scoring, I thought Sheva had looked decent up until today - not his best, but showing signs. Today's performance was more troubling - he couldn't even effectively hold-up or win the ball as he consistently has in the past. He looked confused about where to make his runs.

People have started to wonder if the 31 year-old is in decline. Premature perhaps, but right now it looks as if AC Milan have pulled off the deal of the century with his 50 million pound transfer fee. Even if he comes good over the next few seasons, there will be little transfer value for a 34 or 35 yr old striker, so it seems nearly impossible for him to justify the fee. Not that Chelsea cares.

With the victory, Chelsea has effectively booked their passage through to the knockout rounds - some much needed good news for a side that must recover from the loss of their top 2 goalkeepers, while Barcelona still have work to be done and could be troubled by a dangerous Werder Bremen side for the second spot from the group.

Weekend EPL Thoughts

I've watched the Hunt/Cech incident aboout 15 times and am still ambivalent about how much to blame Hunt was. It was a ball Cech had, but I couldn't tell if Hunt was slipping or purposefully dragging his knee. Either way it was frightening and Cech's career is in some doubt. Chelsea is left with Hilario in goal to face Barcelona on Wendesday in a must-see match (on ESPN2 at 2:45pm EDT). We will also see Eidur Gidjohnsen's return to Stamford Bridge with a Barcelona side now counting on him for some goals in Eto'o's absence.

I knew Angel would hit the score sheet if given time. Great header, too. Oops. Just a nightmare match for him, gifting a toothless Tottenham side a lucky draw at Villa Park. Agbonlohar did well to earn the penalty that Angel missed, and what a great goal (with the right foot) by Gareth Barry to salvage a point.

Newcastle really controlled the first half against Bolton, making up for a distinct aerial disadvatage by pressuring Bolton w their mighty mite middies - Parker, Emre, Duff, and Solano - and not letting Bolton deliver those aerial balls into the box. It worked remarkably well - I have never seen Bolton look worse than they did in the 1st half. They were down 1-0 but if Ramage hadn't blasted over an open net it could have been worse. I was thinking the story line of the match was Newcastle's tactics and Anelka not working yet (or ever). Le Sulk was invisible and ineffective in the lst half.

Then after a brief spell of continued Newcastle dominance to begin the 2nd half (and a solid save by Jaskelainen on Martens), the game totally swtiched. Anelka pounced on a missed header and set up Djiouff with an open net for the equalizer. Djiouff was drawing fouls (and jeers) and one iffy one near the midfield line turned into a Bolton special. Davies easily winning a flick header over 3 Newcastle defenders and Djiouff knowing to gamble and calmly heading home the winner.

It could have been worse from there - Anelka, now energized, started running again and just missed the far corner after a lovely move on the left. Djiouff was infuriating, and single-handedly wasted about 10 minutes with posession, fouls, and time spent on turf rolling and looking for the ref (I bet on Bolton to win, so I loved it). Sam subbed him off eventually, knowing Newcastle was doing everything they could to wind him up and bait him into a second yellow card.

I could not tell if Newcastle was just exhausted and unable to keep up the pace they created with their pressure or if Bolton just adjusted to it at halftime. I still think it is a good way to counteract Bolton, a side that every team in the Prem has had trouble with over the last 3 years. I actually thought much-malignedTitus Bramble played quite well in the back for Newcastle.

Lastly, in the Monday fixture Fulham endured a horrendous first half against struggling Charlton. Coleman played McBride and Helguson together up front w Radzinski and Routledge on the wings to provide balls for them into the box. But the two wingers couldn't create anything (and McBride offered little with his few touches).

Meanwhile, Charlton looked really bright, particularly Dennis Romedahl, who was the most influential player on the pitch. But they could not capitalize and the second half was controlled by Fulham, with Rommedahl disappearing and Fulham revitalized by sub Klaus Jensen. Jensen set-up the first goal by drawing a foul and scored the clincher on a far-too-easy move through the Charlton defense.