Chelsea V Barca (What Goes Around, Comes Around!)

March 2005, Stamford Bridge, UEFA Champions' League Quarter Finals' second Leg.

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea had returned from a disappointing 2-1 loss at the Nou Camp and were looking for an inspired performance to see them through to the Semis. 3-0 up within the first 20 minutes with goals from Gudjonsen, Lampard and Duff looked to have sealed a remarkable turn of events. That's when the world's best player at that time, the ever-smiling Ronaldinho, decided to have a go at this "invincible" Chelsea defense. He scored twice setting Barca putting Barca in the front seat on the much-hated away goals' rule. That led to a frantic final quarter of an hour with Chelsea doing most of the attacking.

Then came the decisive moment, really late in the game. A Chelsea corner led to a well-headed John Terry goal to seal a spot in the semi-finals. But wait, was there a foul in the box? Carvalho bear-hugging Valdes in a show of rare love between two opponents on the football pitch had stopped Valdes from going anywhere near the ball. Terry promptly headed home the winner! The ref was but a few yards away, and yet he missed this obvious foul!

Jubilant scenes followed. The ref wasn't accused of a conspiracy to have 2 English teams in the Semis. The Barca fans were disappointed alright, furious perhaps, and so were the players, but no one came out calling the ref an effing disgrace! A wrong decision, an obvious one, handed Chelsea the win on that remarkable European night but Chelsea didn't care; they were ecstatic at being through, through to a semi-final they'd eventually lose to Liverpool.

Years fly by...

May 2009, Stamford Bridge, UEFA CL Semi-Finals' 2nd Leg.

After a lifeless 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp, the stage was set for some of the most attacking talents in Europe to prove their worth. The likes of Messi, Iniesta, Pique and co had drubbed the mighty Galacticos 6-2 on the weekend at the Bernabeu. Chelsea had fought off a valiant Fulham with a 3-1 win. The preparation couldn't have been better. Essien's sixth minute goal just added to it all. It looked to be an exciting and memorable match, rivaling the QF 4 years ago. It sure was, but not in the way one expected.

Messi, the wonder-kid was well tied-down by the Chelsea defense, and Barca seemed unable to attack as incisively without their Little Maradona. Despite having a staggering 71% of the possession, they only managed that one shot on goal which came in the 93rd minute. It's not like Chelsea were contented with that one goal lead. Knowing Barca's wealth of talent, they pushed for a second. And that's where things started getting heated up. Alves ruled himself out of the final with a yellow card, and Abidal's late lunge on Drogba towards the end of the first half was deemed clean despite the Chelsea fans' rightful protests demanding a penalty.

The second half got even more spicy with three more penalty appeals absurdly waved off my Norwegian referee Henning Ovrebo. Two of those appeals were clear hand-balls by Eto'o and Pique, the latter admitting after the match that it had indeed hit his arm and could have been a penalty. The drama continued with Abidal being sent off for a reckless challenge on Anelka that may not have always deserved a red-card. Down to 10-men with 20 minutes to go, Barca were facing yet another exit at the hands of Chelsea. When four minutes were shown on the board for injury time, it looked like Chelsea had just about done their job despite the poor refereeing. But Iniesta had other ideas, firing home the winner in the 93rd minute of a remarkable tie that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Barca were through on the away goals' rule on the most fortuitous of nights. Chelsea fans threw flags at the ref, the blues surrounded the ref and gave him a little tongue-lashing. Drogba called him, a "f****** disgrace". Terry was almost as vocal in the protests. Yet, Barca didn't care, they were through. Jubilant scenes ensued from the Barca camp, oblivious to the accusations, foul-words, etc. being faced by their beloved ref.

Well, Chelsea, you win some you lose some. The revenge is complete for Barca, and Chelsea, who should have finished off the tie despite the penalty-issues, have only themselves to blame for losing out. The ref helps them one day, deserts them on another day. They need to grow up and stop making excuses for not being able to shut-out a 10-man Barca who had suffered a very similar fate four years ago. Where was the call for a change of refs then? Even Wenger would have spotted the handballs today, but the same Wenger would even have spotted the foul on Valdes in 2005. (Wenger's fave quote: "I didn't see that!") Indeed, Barca go through and they probably deserve to be in the finals too. Off to Rome now and lets hope the Barca-United clash is remembered for the right reasons!