Chelsea vs. Barcelona: Bounces Will Go Barca's Way in Easy Second-Leg Triumph

You absolutely can't take anything away from the performance of Chelsea in the team's shocking 1-0 defeat of Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal. They played solid defense throughout and capitalized on the best scoring opportunity they had in the game.

That said, there is no way they will hold Barca scoreless for a second straight game. And while an away goal Tuesday could possibly be enough to get Chelsea into the final, I simply don't see them advancing past the Catalans.

For as good as Chelsea played, the normally clinical Barcelona side missed countless opportunities. Chelsea didn't so much earn a 1-0 win as they survived against the odds with one. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it.

Here is ex-Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle (via Harry Harris of ESPNsoccernet.com):

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Barca had some wonderful chances and on a more clinical night would have taken them. Chelsea had one chance, one goal, and I had a funny feeling they would nick it, but it does show you how football is such a mad, strange game at times.

As for the second leg, well, the Nou Camp is such a big pitch, it will be even tougher to cover all the spaces, the way Chelsea did at the Bridge, which is a more compact ground.

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Grant Wahl, soccer guru for Sports Illustrated, sees it similarly:

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At the same time, it's hard to envision Chelsea duplicating its Stamford Bridge performance at the Camp Nou. Barça was unlucky not to score, and my sense is the law of averages will be in Barcelona's favor over the next 90 minutes.

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It isn't infeasible that Barcelona could have scored three to four goals with all of the opportunities they had. Two shots struck the bar. It was rather surprising, in fact, that the world's best team didn't execute the chances they normally net.

But this isn't just about looking back. Chelsea still has to travel to Camp Nou, where Barcelona has literally been unbeatable this year. In 30 home matches, the Catalans haven't lost, winning 27. That's remarkable.

Despite being at an obvious advantage with a 1-0 lead in aggregate heading to Camp Nou, I simply don't see how Chelsea survives. We haven't even mentioned Lionel Messi yet, whom the Blues admirably stifled in the first game but who will surely have more to say in the second leg.

It would be a remarkable upset if the Blues were able to pull it off, and credit goes to them for their efforts in the first game. But don't expect Barcelona to miss as many opportunities as they did in the first leg, especially not at home.

Barca will leave little doubt, winning 3-0. You heard it here first.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets light the lamp like Danny Briere.