Chelsea sees its dreams dashed by FC Barcelona - by Graham L.Jones
There was anguish and outrage in London. In Barcelona, there was nothing but bedlam. What else to expect after FC Barcelona had plunged a Spanish dagger into Chelsea soccer hearts Wednesday night, scoring a goal 2:12 into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 tie in a nail-biting European Champions League semifinal at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium?The vital away goal, which under competition rules counts double in the event of a tie, was enough to propel Barcelona into the May 27 Champions League final against Manchester United in Rome. Chelsea had held Europe's highest-scoring team to a 0-0 tie in the first leg in Spain last week. The Blues then held Barcelona at bay for another 90 minutes Wednesday night. They were only 108 seconds away from what would have been a deserved 1-0 victory in the return match. Chelsea, having lost last season's final to Manchester United on penalty kicks in Moscow, was that close to having a chance to avenge that bitter defeat.
With the seconds ticking away and Barcelona desperately seeking a goal that had shown no sign of arriving, Chelsea's players scrambled to clear their lines. Messi, who had done nothing of note in the game to that point, found himself with the ball at his feet just to the left of Chelsea's penalty area. He knew exactly what to do. The Argentine forward slipped a square pass to the unmarked Iniesta and the Spanish international fired a swerving shot into the upper right corner of goalkeeper Petr Cech's net. It was Barcelona's only shot on target all night.Manchester United, the defending champion, defeated Barcelona in last season's semifinals and will be favored to win in Rome.
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