- guardian.co.uk,
- Tuesday April 18, 2000
1 Gianluca Vialli has picked a relatively defensive midfield in Dennis Wise, Didier Deschamps, Jody Morris and Roberto di Matteo - there's no room for Gustavo Poyet or Dan Petrescu, both of whom are on the bench. Meanwhile, Patrick Kluivert is back in the Barca side, despite a running dispute with boss Louis Van Gaal, and captain Josep Guardiola, Michael Reiziger and Boudewijn Zenden all return with him. Barca kick off in front of a capacity 98,000 Nou Camp crowd. There's a bit of an atmosphere.
1 Albert Ferrer is booked for not much. He'll miss the next game if Chelsea progress.
2 Rivaldo sends Figo free down the right - nearly a good cross but it sails out for a goal kick.
4 Philip Cocu finds Zenden on the left - Ferrer sweeps up.
4 Rivaldo walks past Morris as though the Chelsea youngster isn't there. He sweeps a Beckhamesque ball out to Zenden - his cross is useless. This time.
5 Zenden feeds Cocu down the left - the Dutchman swings a wonderful ball which just evades the lunging Kluivert.
8 Chelsea buy some time - Flo and Di Matteo win a free kick between them. Ferrer's free kick finds Flo near the right-hand corner flag, but Puyol nips in to wheech the ball away.
9 Figo runs ominously at Babayaro, who fortunately wins a free kick. Chelsea rocking down the flanks. In a different way, so are Barca.
11 Kluivert flicks to Rivaldo. Who flicks out wide to Zenden. Who flicks the ball past Ferrer and slides in a cross which is only just knocked away by Leboeuf.
12 Figo cuts in from the right and charges towards the penalty area. He plays an adroit one-two with a back-to-goal Kluivert and is upended in the box by Desailly. Fairly, as it turns out.
14 Morris, Zola and Deschamps keep hold of the ball for all of ten seconds. The home side are harrying Chelsea very well indeed.
16 Flo wins a high ball and flicks out to the onrushing Zola - he misses the chance of a volley but wins a throw. From it, Chelsea win a free kick. It's scrappy and it comes to nothing, but it causes a brief flurry of bother in the Barca box. A useful couple of minutes for the Chelse, who are breaking up Barca's slick play for a while at least.
20 Good possession from Barca, but they can't get the ball out to the flanks - where they look dangerous - at the moment.
20 The cheekiest moment of the night so far as Babayaro throws a saucy dummy in his own box to calmly clear a through ball.
22 It's catching - Rivaldo diddles Leboeuf with a fancy hip shimmy - clear space. His piledriver flies high and wide to De Goey's left.
24 GOAL Barcelona 1 - 0 Chelsea A foolish Deschamps lunge on Rivaldo gives Barca a free-kick in the centre 25 yards out. Rivaldo welts it left to right around the wall - it pings back to the left off Babayaro's head, wrongfoots De Goey and bounces into an empty net. At the same time, someone switches the Nou Camp "on".
28 De Goey comes to punch a looping cross - he meets it but sends it in the direction of the onrushing Zenden. Luckily his hoof is too high and flies over the bar.
30 Figo sends Deschamps one way and then the other. He rolls the ball out wide to Kluivert whose cross is slid out for a corner. The most composed Chelsea defending since the goal sees the corner easily cleared.
32 Flo is sent a ball to chase down the right wing - he bravely wins it but there's no support. Puyol eventually runs away, cackling.
33 Desailly takes charge - he barges Zenden out of the way and storms up the pitch. His belief sparks the best Chelsea move so far - Wise, Flo and Morris knock it about for a bit, allowing Morris a shot. It's off target, but that's better.
34 Cocu, in no trouble, passes back to Hesp - Ferrer charges down the keeper's clearance. Goal kick. Are Chelsea picking their game up?
40 Perhaps - because Chelsea win a corner. Zola sends it in only for Hesp to flap under it. Flo meets the ball at the far post but misses the empty net. A real chance.
43 Babayaro concedes a corner under no pressure. From it, Desailly gets him out of jail with a towering header.
45 GOAL Barcelona 2 - 0 Chelsea With time running out in the first half, Figo, coming in from the left, makes a late dash into Chelsea territory. He turns the entire away defence inside out to create space in the box, and passes to Kluivert, waiting on the edge of the area. The ex-Ajax man hammers a real pearler against the base of De Goey's right-hand post - it comes arrowing straight back out to Figo, who calmly takes two touches to make some room for himself and passes the ball into an empty net.
45 Figo's goal is the last kick of the half. Chelsea must now score to stay in the competition.
46 Chelsea set the ball rolling for the second half. Lambourde on for Ferrer. For some reason, Wise is now a bit uptight - he hacks down Rivaldo. From the free kick, Figo whips in a cross which is missed by Leboeuf and sails towards Kluivert, two yards out. Luckily, the Dutchman didn't think the Chelsea defender would miss the ball and it bounces off his shins to safety.
47 Wise, the feisty little fella, now flies in on Cocu. Yellow card. Yawn.
49 Rivaldo is left to run free down the centre. He beats Leboeuf to the left is one-on-one with De Goey... who saves! It's a brilliant smother to keep Chelsea in the game.
51 Wise finds space down the right. His shot is easily dealt with by Hesp. But it's a good move. A minute later, Babayaro is found in acres down the same channel - have Chelsea spotted something?
52 Figo slides in on Deschamps and earns a booking - if Barca progress he's out of the semi-final first leg.
54 Leboeuf nearly finds Zola with a long ball through the middle. Chelsea are looking more creative this half - which is not difficult, granted.
56 Lambourde finds Flo in the box with a high ball. It's hacked away. Lambourde gets on the ball again and sends in an equally dangerous cross - Wise nearly digs it out from under his feet on the penalty spot. Again it's cleared but Chelsea are at last showing some form.
60 GOAL Barcelona 2 - 1 Chelsea Chelsea are back in the box seat. Zola chases a backpass and presses Hesp who passes straight to Flo, waiting on the right-hand corner of the area. There's still work to be done, but Flo beats Puyol with his first touch and curls the ball left to right past Hesp into the net. How important is De Goey's save now?
63 Reizeger goes on a run and is denied brilliantly by De Goey, who tips away. From the corner, Kluivert smashes a brilliant header against the bar. It's the luck you need...
67 Barca pass it about for a bit but they're being pushed back by a determined Chelsea midfield whose improvement is nothing short of outstanding.
70 Zenden cuts infield just like Figo did before half-time for his goal - this time, the Chelsea defence take a deep breath and work hard to close him down.
73 Dani on for Zenden.
74 Zola, out on the right, pushes the ball infield to Morris, who rolls the ball into the path of Di Matteo out on the left. He's clear but he tries to shift the ball onto his right foot. Too late - his hectic poke is smothered for a corner. Is this Chelsea's Rivaldo moment?
77 Figo whips in a free kick from the left which evades the entire Chelsea defence and finds Dani free on the far post. It's his first touch since coming on and he can't miss. What an effective substitution. For Chelsea, that is - he heads wide when it was easier to score.
80 Almost a re-run. It's not a free kick this time, but Figo turns in a wonderful cross from the same area - Dani meets it well this time but his header is turned around the post by De Goey.
82 Di Matteo and Babayaro work well to feed Flo, who is found offside when there's really no need to be. Chelsea inviting more pressure on themselves.
83 GOAL Barcelona 3 - 1 Chelsea From the free kick, Barca move upfield and win another. Guardiola floats in a set piece which Dani heads in off Desailly's chest. Extra time looms.
85 Barca miss penalty A magnificent through ball finds Kluivert free in the middle of the box. He's hacked down by Leboeuf but still pokes the ball into the net while prone. No matter - the referee has already blown for a penalty so it won't count. Rivaldo, the best player in the world, steps up to take the spot kick, sends De Goey, who dives to his left, the wrong way and... blasts the ball wide of the left-hand post.
89 Kluivert nearly converts Figo's right-wing cross but De Goey catches well. How often does a last-minute attempt at goal seem like a breather from the action?
90 Hesp turns a Di Matteo shot around his post for a corner. Flo nearly meets it but Rivaldo clears by playing keepy-uppy. After a penalty miss you've got to admire that.
90 Full time. There will be another 30 minutes to decide this one. Phew.
91 It's off again.
93 Wise nearly nips between Cocu and Hesp to lob in an unlikely goal.
94 Lambourde loses the ball in his own area - Figo beats his lunge to smash the ball goalwards. De Goey stands up well to save his team-mate's blushes.
97 GOAL Barcelona 4 - 1 Chelsea Figo runs straight through the heart of the Chelsea defence. It's an amazing weaving run which evades three men - but not Babayaro's penalty-box lunge. It's a penalty and Babayaro is sent off. Rivaldo steps up to take the kick and... we've been here before... rolls it where he meant to roll it the first time - inside the left-hand post. You've got to admire his courage.
101 Petrescu on for Deschamps.
103 Di Matteo bundles Abelardo off the ball and feeds Morris on the edge of the area - he hits a lovely daisy cutter which is on target and well held by Hesp.
104 GOAL Barcelona 5 - 1 Chelsea Dani skins the skin-headed Leboeuf down the right - his cross is perfectly on the head of Kluivert, who makes no mistake in dispatching the ball past an unguarded De Goey. It's all over now, surely.
105 Sergi on for Reizeger.
106 The last throw of the dice for Chelsea - Poyet on for an exhausted Zola.
108 Well they're trying. Wise gets after a hopeful up-and-under, lets the ball drop over his shoulder and volleys towards goal - Hesp parries. Within a minute, Leboeuf hammers in another shot - another excellent parry from Hesp.
110 A real feeling that Chelsea are finally spent after nearly two hours of battle - Barca are indulging in some keep ball.
116 De Goey makes yet another superlative save to keep the score down - Rivaldo lays a chance on for Dani, who looks to chip the advancing keeper. No dice.
117 Wise in 'deep discussion' with Figo.
120 Petrescu finds space down the right and finds Flo. A final chance to create some drama? No - Flo is penalised for pushing and the final whistle follows apace. Chelsea's European adventure is over - there's always the FA Cup.
Barcelona Hesp, Zenden, F. de Boer, Reiziger, Puyol, Cocu, Guardiola, Gabri, Rivaldo, Kluivert, Figo. Subs: Arnau, Abelardo, Litmanen, Sergi, Dani, Simao, Xavi.
Chelsea De Goey, Babayaro, Desailly, Leboeuf, Ferrer, Morris, Wise, Deschamps, Di Matteo, Zola, Flo. Subs: Cudicini, Petrescu, Poyet, Sutton, Ambrosetti, Lambourde, Thome.
Referee Anders Frisk (Sweden)
