My prediction regarding the second leg of Barcelona and Chelsea's tie in the semifinal of the Champions League was dead wrong. I predicted a 4-0 Barcelona victory, but in fact the end result was a 2-2 tie that saw Chelsea advance to the final on an aggregate score of 3-2. There were 4 goals scored, so I had that part down. Barcelona's defeat has been hit with harsh remarks fired at the stars of the squad, mainly Messi for missing a penalty kick that would have made it considerably hard for Chelsea to come back from. Blaming the loss on one player is unfair, no one really knows why Barcelona, allegedly the best team in the history of anything, failed to win. Barcelona's loss just proves how hard it is to maintain such dominant form. Not many teams expect to find themselves victorious in every tournament every year.
Looking at the other side of this semifinal match up, Chelsea has managed to reach the final of the Champions League despite sitting in 6th place in the Premier League and struggling to find good, consistent form. One of the concerns for Chelsea is that they have four players that are ineligible to participate in the final. Three of these people have yellow card accumulation issues and one repulsive man is excluded due to a red card. The yellow card offenders include Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires, and Raul Meireles. There is a movement attempting to allow the yellow card offenders to play in the final, but the important news is that John Terry will not be playing in the final after his attempt to cornhole Alexis Sanchez with his knee, which earned him a red card. Everyone should know that Terry will not be on the field on May 19, 2012, so make sure he is nowhere near your wife or girlfriend. Chelsea will meet Bayern Munich in the final after Bayern's victory over Real Madrid yesterday in a penalty kick shootout.
When both Real Madrid and Barcelona reached the semifinal of the Champions League, there was a great chance to have El Clasico in the final. I actually think that it is good for the soccer world that this is not the case. While Barcelona and Real Madrid are both spectacular teams full of great players and headed by wonderful coaches, I think it is good for there to be some variety in winners. Chelsea versus Bayern Munich might not be the ideal match up, but at least John Terry can't play. Over the past two seasons, since Barcelona has become known as the greatest team ever, since Mourinho went to the helm at Real Madrid, and the battle between CR7 and Messi started, I think many people need a break from these two teams. Bayern Munich is a great team headed by two outstanding wingers in Ribery and Robben, even if one has problems with prostitutes and the other has trouble staying on his feet and not getting injured.
Bayern Munich earned its spot in the final by advancing over Real Madrid in a game that came down to penalties. Manuel Neuer looks like he was worth signing after his tremendous performance in the penalty shootout, and Sergio Ramos' awful attempt at a penalty kick. Advancement looked improbable for Bayern after CR7 scored two quick goals in the early stages of the match, but Robben put them right back in the hunt when he netted a penalty kick (CR7 scored one penalty, too). Bayern continued to fight valiantly and forced the penalty shootout where Neuer came up so big. I hope Oliver Kahn is proud. Hopefully Chelsea doesn't use extremely defensive tactics in an effort to suppress Bayern's attacking style of soccer, similar to how they played in the second leg versus Barcelona. Chelsea should have confidence in their attackers, especially after Torres scored the winning goal against Barcelona.
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| I see you, Neuer |
Fernando Torres has been struggling to put the ball in the back of the net ever since joining Chelsea during last year. Now that he has scored the game winner against mighty Barcelona and stuck the figurative dagger in the players' and fans' heart, he should have some confidence going into the final that Chelsea should look to tap into. There is no doubt that Bayern will come out attacking, that's their style of play. Real Madrid also plays an aggressive attacking style which made the match up between the too so entertaining. There's no telling what Chelsea will do in the final given that they are without Terry and some other players, but Bayern is also missing players due to yellow card accumulation including Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba, and Holger, Badstuber. Neither side will be able to field its strongest team, but the teams will be far from a reserve team match up.
Not many people had Chelsea versus Bayern Munich pegged in the final, but it creates an interesting game. Bayern Munich has played as two different teams throughout the year. Sometimes Bayern plays like the best team in the world and at other times look like an average team. At one point Bayern won a few games in a row by outrageous scorelines, simply obliterating opposition. However, Bayern was unable to win the Bundesliga, with Dortmund taking the domestic title for the second year in a row. Chelsea has been on the decline for a few years, they haven't been terrible, but they used to be a threat to win the Premier League for the last few years, but have struggled as of late. 6th place in the Premier League is struggling by the team's current standards, and Roman Abramovic expectations considering the amount of money he has put into the team.
The final perplexes me, I have no idea what to expect out of this game. If anyone actually reads this, feel free to share your score prediction on the final and any other thoughts you have on the game. I'm going with Bayern Munich taking this one 2-1, and remember, watch out for Terry because he will not, I repeat, will not be on the pitch for this one. One final note, Fernando Torres deserves congratulations for scoring the game winner versus Barcelona. The guy has taken so much heat since joining Chelsea that it must really be taking a toll on him. His teammates might be scumbags, cue John Terry and Ashley Cole (I didn't forget about that clown), but if Chelsea had to advance to the final, I'm glad it was Torres that did it for them. Good signing, Abramovic.
