Chelse-Barca; the night the underdog conquered the overlord.

After that goal, I told my brother-in-law that Ramireswas going to play the game of his lifeand boy, did he play well! He defended and attacked relentlessly. That goal gave Chelsea a lifeline. Many didn’t give them a chance. Critics and some fans of Chelsea were on the same page. You could hardly blame them especially if you witnessed the 18 April episode in London. Barcelona outplayed but only failed to outscore their hosts who gotlucky via a solitarystrike from Ivorien Didier Drogba. After that encounter, many wrote off Chelsea because of the return fixture billed to hold at theNou Camp- a place considered as the ‘holy of holies’. Many who had visited, came out scarred – it was indeed a fortress. The last time Chelsea visited, it ended scoreless. Lionel Messi wasn’tas prolific then as he is now. He entered into this game with 63 goalsin all competitions this seasonThe mentioned duogot bookings that ruled them out of the finals, but rather than being deterred, they went on to give man-of-the-match performances to steer their respective teams to the final. After that goal, I told my brother-in-law thatRamires was gonnaplay the game of his life and boy, did he play well! Hedefended and attacked relentlessly. That goal gave Chelsea a lifeline. Barca knew they had to score if they were to become the only team after AC Milanin 1990 to successfully defend their coveted trophy. So they did three things: they attacked, they attacked and they attacked. It paid offwhen Drogba tripped Fabregas. Messi took the resultant penalty. Having already scored 14 goals in this season’s UCL, it was an opportunity to set the record for mostgoals in a single UCL season. Messi hardly misses fromthe spot. The best player in the world showed he was stillhuman, after all. Hemissed. He still hasnever scored against Chelsea. I knew Barca had lost it then. They missed a couple more chances. Messi even hit the post. But then camethe moment- With Barca pushing forward to grab the all-important 3rd goal, Ashley Cole – who set up Ramires’ goal – cleared the ball from yet another Barca attack. Who did it fall to? The much-maligned Fernando Torres, who had replaced Drogba. He ran for almost fifty yards before he rounded Victor Valdes to score a goal that sent many into ecstasy. Okada riders were stunting in Lagos, free drinks were being declared in Abuja. You would be forgiven if you thought Chelsea had won the cup proper. No, they hadn’t. People were just celebrating the triumph of determination overa team that didn’t have a Plan B. Whatever you might think of this encounter, I’m sureyou will, at least, remember it as the night that the underdog conquered the overlord