Champions League Preview: Chelsea are the Only Team Who Can Beat Barcelona

The Champions league is upon us. Madrid faced Tottenham, Chelsea faced Man Utd., Barcelona faced Shakhtar, and Inter Milan came against Schalke.

We can safely say that Madrid, Barcelona, and Schalke are through.

Tottenham got drilled by Madrid, who beat them 4-0. Barcelona beat Shakhtar 5-1, and Inter Milan lost 5-2 to Schalke.

The game which stays in the balance is the Man Utd.-Chelsea game. Chelsea lost the game 1-0.  However, I believe they can overcome this result to go through.

If you recall two years ago, when Chelsea should have been in the final to play Man Utd. again as a repeat of the 2007 final, it was Barcelona who went through, with a bit of "help" from the ref. A bit of an understatement, to tell the truth.

Without a doubt, UEFA did not want a repeat of the same final, or rather, wanted Barcelona to be in the final. Either way, they got what they wanted.

Slowly but surely, we truly are experiencing UEFA as, in Arsene Wenger's words, a "dictatorship." The signs are ruthless; however, with time we forget the past.

Maybe you can't always blame the ref, but when the whole stadium can see what has happened and the man (or men) in charge can't, something is wrong.

With Barcelona already having won the Champions League in 2008, I don't think the ref (UEFA) will mind who wins between the two this time around, should they face each other.
 
Chelsea are a very strong team, capable of beating anyone on their day. On the other hand, Barcelona can destroy any team on their day, as we saw against Madrid—one of the finest team performances I have ever watched. Chelsea are a team who can hold Barcelona, as we saw at the Nou camp in 2008. 

If Chelsea are to come up against Barcelona, I know they can beat them over two legs. It's just whether they can believe it themselves.

Mentally, Barcelona are the hardest team to face, but if you can get your tactics right, it can go your way, as we saw with Inter last year.

As the second legs are coming up, the game to watch is the Man Utd.-Chelsea game. Man Utd. are favorites among many people. Chelsea had a bleak first leg; however, there were times of scare for Man Utd. Drogba hitting the post could have been a goal had Torres got a touch to it. He didn't have his best. A late penalty claim which should have gone Chelsea's way didn't.

Karma always has a funny way of hitting back. If not for the penalty shout last week, then for the Champions League final defeat in 2007, or even the semi final lost in 2008.

Surely Chelsea's fate lies in the Champions League semi finals against Schalke, should they not lose to Inter by four goals or more.

Barcelona have cruised through the Champions League. Nothing looks set to stop them in their stride. Should the plan stay set, they are to face Madrid in the Semi Finals. Mourinho will look to finish them off as he did last season. However, this time around he has a much more attack-oriented team.

The last time he faced Barcelona?

Let's just say there were five goals and Madrid got none. I'm sure he would have forgotten that by now and with the League out of their hands by miles at this point, Madrid will want to beat Barcelona to progress through the Champions League.

Chelsea, on par, have also cruised through the Champions league. In the league, they're not doing as well as Barcelona, as they are competing for the fourth spot. They edged Man Utd. in the league recently, however, their eyes are set on the Champions league.

In the game, all other eyes will be on Drogba and Torres. They haven't had the best start so far, with Torres not getting a single goal for Chelsea up to now.

Will this be the one?

Another point is that Drogba looks set to leave Chelsea this summer, after starting on the bench a few times since the £50 million man arrived. The tension between the two is there. Drogba can not start with Torres, we have seen this evidence on many occasions so far.

There are three ways Chelsea can start their strike force.

1.
           Anelka
                          Drogba

This, for me, is the best way to start the game. We have seen the chemistry between the two in the past, and earlier this season it was over the roof—until their dry spell.

If Chelsea want to win this game, they have to start this way. If they then go on to struggle with goals, they can replace Anleka for Torres, with Drogba sitting just behind him.

2.  
         Drogba
                       Torres

This is how they started the game last week, and to be fair it worked at times. However, we always felt there was something that needed change. This came in the form of Anelka for Drogba, and the introduction of Malouda, which sparked a bit more life in the Chelsea Team.

3.
                   Anelka
       
       Drogba            Torres

This would be a risky start, but would be hard to see them lack goals against Man Utd. The problem is that if one of them gets injured, then the whole game plan would have to change.

This would also spark the decision of which midfielders to start. I don't see this being the start up, however it would be entertaining to the eye.


Should they get past Man Utd., the semi against Shcalke (or Inter) would look to their favor, which would lead them into a final against Madrid (Spurs out for sure) or Barcelona.

For me, Madrid would beat Chelsea. The outcome of the El Clasico double will be vital to Chelsea.

The threat for Chelsea, like any team facing Barcelona, will be Xavi, Iniesta, and their magic man Messi. They manged to stop him two years ago, however, a late Iniesta goal dumped them out of the Semi-Final.

If they can manage to stop the trio this time around (easier said than done), then Chelsea have every chance of becoming the Champions League winners.

My Prediction for the Man Utd.-Chelsea game is 1-2 to Chelsea, with them going through on away goals.

Saying all this, if Man Utd. do beat Chelsea, do expect Barcelona to win the Champions League.