Chelsea vs. Barcelona: Champions League First Leg by the Numbers

Barcelona had all of the ball, but Chelsea had all of the goals in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal tie.

A Didier Drogba goal in first-half added time proved to be the difference as the Blues came out of the pouring rain at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win that almost no one not currently employed by the London club had predicted.

The visitors owned the match. Chelsea started in a defensive posture and retreated completely into their shell following Drogba's goal. For the majority of the second-half, all eleven Chelsea players were within 40 yards of their own goal.

The big numbers show just how dominant Barcelona were on the ball:

846 - Total passes by Barcelona

228 - Total passes by Chelsea

134 - Total passes played by Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez

Before you give Chelsea more credit than they deserve for their passing total, it should be noted that Xavi was substituted in the 87th minute. The way Barca were holding the ball, he could have closed the gap significantly in those last few minutes.

The slightly smaller numbers break down the dominance even further:

93 - Barcelona passing accuracy

89 - Percentage passing accuracy for Chelsea center-back John Terry (the highest mark for a Chelsea field player)

88 - Percentage passing accuracy for Barcelona right-back Dani Alves (the lowest mark for a Barcelona field player)

79 - Percent of possession for Barcelona

32 - Total passes played by Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel (the most by any Chelsea player)

21 - Percent of possession for Chelsea

Let's pull two numbers out of this section. Barcelona had 79-percent of possession to Chelsea's 21-percent. That's virtually impossible to accomplish if both teams are composed of living, breathing players. But it is an accurate reflection of just how thoroughly the Blues bunkered in.

It's a page from Jose Mourinho's 2010 Inter Milan playbook. Mourinho's Inter side are held up as the extreme example of anti-possession football.

But Chelsea out-did even that precedent. During Inter's triumph over Barcelona in 2010, Mourinho's men enjoyed a comparatively robust 29-percent of possession.

Mourinho's Inter side wanted no part of possession, but they were much more daring on the counter-attack as the next group of numbers reveal:

24 - Total shots for Barcelona

10 - Shots blocked by Chelsea players

7 - Total shots for Lionel Messi

6 - Shots on target for Barcelona

4 - Total shots for Chelsea

4 - Number of tackles by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba

2 - Number of times Barcelona hit the frame of the Chelsea goal

1 - Shots on target for Chelsea

Two things leap out of this set of statistics. First, Barcelona were incredibly wasteful in their finishing. Cesc Fabregas in particular will be mortified when the time comes to review the game film.

Couple their waste with their bad luck and Barcelona could have played another 90 minutes without ever touching the Chelsea net.

The other instructive numbers are the ones that indicate Chelsea striker Didier Drogba had as many tackles as the entire Chelsea team had shots.

The second-half in particular was played almost entirely in the Chelsea end and Drogba's value as an eleventh defender was far more important than anything he did involving the ball.

Four total shots is less than half the number that Mourinho's Inter accomplished in 2010. For that matter, it's only one more shot than Inter had goals. Long story short, Chelsea has set a new standard for anti-football. And it worked a miracle.

Despite so many of the numbers leaning so heavily in Barcelona's favor, only two numbers mean anything in the final reckoning:

1 - Chelsea goals

0 - Barcelona goals

The one-goal advantage that Chelsea take with them into the second leg is important. But perhaps more important is the fact that the Blues kept Barcelona from scoring an away goal.

That seemingly insignificant point means that if Chelsea are able to score next week in the Nou Camp, Barcelona will have to win the match by two goals in order to eliminate Roberto di Matteo's side.

It won't escape the notice of either clubs' supporters that the two teams' 2009 semifinal climax set up much the same way as this one is now shaping up. Chelsea will hope that the away-goals rule (not to mention the officiating) will cut in their favor this time around.

Chelsea will travel to Barcelona for the semifinal second leg on April 24th.

(All statistics taken from the match report at Whoscored.com)