As three Premier League sides march into the last-four of Europe’s blue ribbon competition, Goal.com’s KS Leong asks if mighty Barca can spoil the all-English party.
Spain, Italy and England are the only three nations to have provided two teams in the final of the Champions League in the same year, but none have so far managed to do it twice, let alone in successive seasons. However, the Premier League could become the first association to pull off that feat.

The only problem is, standing in their way – for the second year in a row – will be a Barcelona side who have scored more goals and won more domestic matches than any other team in Europe’s top leagues. And they are playing, without question, the best football anywhere on planet Earth today and they are the bookies’ hot favourites to become the new kings of the continent.

As bubbly and vibrant as their champagne football might be, style alone can’t win them massive encounters like these in a competition like the Champions League, and certainly not the title itself, although they would beg to differ.

It’s true that Barca have swept past all comers with swashbuckling ease this season, blitzing French champions, Lyon, and the German champions, Bayern Munich, in the last two rounds of the competition. And they were overpowering against their own Spanish champions, Real Madrid, back home in La Liga in their El Clasico clash back in December.

However, they have not been tested against the tactically astute and physically superior English. Until now. If Barcelona wish to hoist the European Cup for the third time in their history, they will have to navigate past the rampant Premier League mob, like it or not.

Guus Blues; Pep’s Barca

The first obstacle for the Blaugrana is Chelsea. The biggest threat that the Londoners pose is that they have a team full of superstars, a world class footballer to occupy almost every position. Up until now, Barca have never had to deal with a rival who had more than one or two key players on the pitch at any one time.

The Pensioners do have a dazzling array of stars and, their fans would argue, that they have the manpower in their squad to match, or even outmatch, the Catalans. But let’s be honest, Barca simply have too much class.

For every Drogba, the Spaniards have Eto’o and Henry. For Bosingwa, there’s Dani Alves. For every Lampard, there’s Xavi and Iniesta. And for every Malouda, Anelka, Ballack and Deco, there’s Lionel Messi.

Chelsea’s only hope is Guus Hididnk. In the veteran Dutch maestro, they have one of the most well-respected and consistently successful tactical minds in world football today. And the inexperienced Pep Guardiola will certainly have his work cut out if he is to outsmart his counterpart.

But Hiddink has worries of his own, especially his leaky defence, having shipped in five goals in total against Liverpool over two legs in the quarter-finals and three more against unfancied Bolton in between. This will be music to Barcelona ears, considering the irresistible form they’ve been in. They took just 43 minutes to score four times against Lyon in the first leg of the last 16 and exactly 43 minutes again to score another quartet of goals against Bayern in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

Chelsea will have good reason to quake in their boots whey they step onto the Camp Nou turf for the first leg. And it won’t be because of the 90,000-plus bloodthirsty fans bellowing a cacophony of noise. But if they can get past the first 43 minutes in one piece, they might just have a chance.

Repeat Success Or Revenge Mission?

If Barca can get past Chelsea, they will be confident of lifting the trophy in the Eternal City on May 27, as the most problematic test would have already been negotiated. No disrespect to Manchester United or Arsenal, but the Blues are Barcelona’s trickiest hurdle, albeit not necessarily the toughest.

If Pep’s entertainers do make the final, it’ll be down to a question of what they prefer most: a rerun of the 2006 final against Arsenal, or, if they feel up to the challenge, go on a revenge mission by taking on a Manchester United side who heartbreakingly sent them packing in last season’s semi-final.

Barcelona vs Manchester United will indeed be a dream final for almost every football fan, neutral or otherwise. It will pit, without doubt, the two most dominant club sides in Europe this season.

United outfoxed the Blaugrana last term, relying almost on a catenaccio [/b]game plan to stun their Spanish counterparts coached then by Frank Rijkaard. Even though the Red Devils have increased their attacking firepower this season, there’s every chance they could employ that same strategy to conquer the Catalan colossus again.

Only difference is, Barca were a dysfunctional family last season. This time around, they are playing like a well-oiled, well-drilled attacking battleship where every pass is precise and every assault destructive. And Sir Alex Ferguson’s tactical wiliness may no longer be enough to trump them.

Then, of course, there’s the little matter of the personal confrontation between [b]Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. The two best players in the world will finally be on the same stage – post-end-of-year individual awards season – big enough to end the debate of all debates and it will be a straight fight to see who the best footballer really is, with no two-legged contests to hide behind.

A Barcelona-Arsenal final will also have quite a symbolic precedent, especially in today’s football climate, as it will see the two 'youngest' sides in the competition lock horns. The Blaugrana may have a finely balanced team of experience and youth, but coach Pep Guardiola is very much a freshman.

Arsene Wenger, on the other hand, is one of the most experienced and successful club managers today, but his squad, with an average age of just 23.5 years, look more like a boys’ church choir group than a professional men’s football team. 

Should they both make the final, it will prove that you do not need a big bank account, or the most seasoned coach, or a squad full of big-game players to win the most coveted trophy in club football. It will also be one for the purists as the Gunners are the only side left in the competition who can match the Blaugrana in terms of collective entertainment.

And if a United showdown will produce a collision between The Messiah and CR7, an Arsenal showcase will allow Cesc Fabregas and Xavi to square off in what will be another mouth-watering dispute to indulge fans and determine just exactly who is Spain’s most gifted deep-lying playmaker.

One way or another, you just get the feeling that this year’s Champions League final will be a humdinger, provided Barcelona go through. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First stop, the Camp Nou.

http://goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2009/04/18/1216138/spanish-inquisition-barcelona-vs-the-premier-league-can-they-prev

Let the RUMBLE begins

my guy barcelona for the trophy they will win it just for messsssssi to decide

Barcelona of the season's just too hot to ignore, they play a very beautiful football with a lot of goals flowing in like water with the attacking trio on ground. You don't have to worry about what to expect, every opponent knows what to expect from them. All they need is how to slow them down from bombarding the goal mouth before even thinking of going towards theirs. Chelsea, here comes your old customer. Chelsea still remain at Barca's mercy.

honeric01:

Barcelona of the season's just too hot to ignore, they play a very beautiful football with a lot of goals flowing in like water with the attacking trio on ground. You don't have to worry about what to expect, every opponent knows what to expect from them. All they need is how to slow them down from bombarding the goal mouth before even thinking of going towards theirs. Chelsea, here comes your old customer. Chelsea still remain at Barca's mercy.

Wait till they meet an English side.
Barcelona play in a shit league. . . . . . .The other teams in La Liga are all mediocre.
The defending in La Liga is shocking. Messi gets so much space you wonder why he doesn't score 40 goals per season.
We shall see how he would get past Essien, Terry and Alex.

As Shitty as you claim la liga's teams are, your defending champion in your 'not shiity epl' couldn't beat a villareal team which sit @ 5th place in la liga. They played twice and man united couldn't beat them. What does that spell to you? If la liga's defending is that bad, then all la liga's teams should have been beaten 10-0 by teams from your epl.
Most players that hardly make highest goal scorer in la liga end up being point men in your epl teams, Skills and talents are very rare in epl but la liga has it in fullest.

Sauron, its high time you dropped that useless anatomy that la liga can't defend that's why messi score easily. Is lyon, bayern and host of others in la liga too? Abeg find something else to nag about.

Wait till they meet an English side.
Barcelona play in a shit league. . . . . . .The other teams in La Liga are all mediocre.
The defending in La Liga is shocking. Messi gets so much space you wonder why he doesn't score 40 goals per season.
We shall see how he would get past Essien, Terry and Alex

The defending in EPL that makes Chelsea and Liverpool play 4-4 in a grade A game.

The same defending that saw Aston Villa, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Man Citeh dumped out of Europe disgracefully

And you wonder why Messi is the leading goal scorer in UCL too or are those la Liga defending?

I think he has scored more than CR7 did in last season CL with at least 2 games more for Messi to go

dayokanu:

I think he has scored more than CR7 did in last season CL with at least 2 games more for Messi to go

DayoTWATnu, Football is not your forte!!!
Ronaldo scored 8 goals last season . . . . .Messi has not scored more than CR7.
At least check your sources before goofing on a public forum.

Messi has 8 goals already and He still has at least 2 more games.

If he manages half a goal he would have outscored CR7 in his best season

I am hopeful plenty of EPL bois would not come back to this thread after the first leg in camp nou.

Sauron Sauron, soro soro soro, sebi iwo lo le nue nue, lenue lenue. Even if na Taboo, BARCA will prove ur weak point against laliga teams wrong. I hate it when u consistently spew that same ol phrase about the spanish side having a poor defense, ok agreed, we shall see when messi, iniesta,eto and henry drills a hole past ur defense.


I know you'll shut ur mouth permanently soon.
@ dayo, u have been a meat for Chelsea/gunner/Manure fans, they screw u over and over again. Dont u think its the right time you join Barca. That Bayern wey u dey nor too pay ur ass off.

It can be so assuring when you are supporting a team like Barca in the champs. league this season. To say the fact Barca is in it this season and I've not seen that Epl team that can stop them, even with all thier anti football ways, they still will not find a way of stopping messi, cos he is invicible. So let chelsea double thier essien and tripple didier drogba they'll still have no remedy for barca.

Let it be on record that no team from earth can stop MESSI's sublime performance this season.Durella said enu ose.we shall see.1st leg:Barca 2-Chelsea 0.  2nd leg:Chelsea 1-Barca 2. Barca scoresheet:Messi,Hleb,Iniesta & Eto'o.Chelsea scoresheet:Victor Valdes(OG).Aftermath?Barca in Rome.Guus Sacked and Chelsea disbanded,

i can sense some NL oldschool registering as a newbie and posting here.

Anyone that claims La Liga teams are shitty does not have the slightest clue what they are talking about.  I don't mean to sound condescending but i can't find a more polite way to put that.

Besides the top 4 (Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal), EPL teams are about the worst of the major European teams. I mean, when was the last time any English team did anything respectable in the UEFA cup? The last time, i think it was middlesborough, made it to the finals they got disgraced (4-0) by a spanish team, Sevilla. The following year there were 3 spanish teams in the semifinals, and an all spanish finals.

Besides Aston Villa (had a very good start to this season) the other EPL teams are almost embarrassing to watch. The technical ability of the players is laughable, and most of the games are just a tackle-cross-head competition. It is no surprise when they meet teams like Fiorentina, Udinese, Espanyol, Getafe, etc,  they get their asses exposed. The EPL just does an excellent job selling itself which is why they are the most popular and supported (largest fan base) in the world. But that is as a league. Non English big teams (Barca, Real Madrid, AC/Inter Milan, Bayern) are just as big as the top 4 EPL teams,  it is when you start to go further down the table that the EPL starts to get the advantage,  the EPL has been selling itself globally forever so they have that exposure advantage, the others are still playing catch-up and apparently not doing a very good job.

I'm a die-hard Barcelona fan and a big-time Arsenal admirer but i like to believe i'm unbiased in my assessment. When you look at the major signings the English teams have made in recent seasons you will see they are going after La-Liga players like no man's business,  Liverpool signed Torres from Atletico Madrid (now a liverpool idol), Chelsea signed Deco and Belletti (2 barcelona rejects), Tottenham tried to steal another Barca kid and it flopped, Dos Santos (can't stop laughing at that stupid kid and his greedy agent), See Arteta in everton, Fabregas was a Barca kid,  I can go on and on.  The top-top talent all come from outside England, it is the money that draws the players to england and not the level of football.

If you want to see beautiful football across the board, and not when only the big teams are playing, La Liga is the league,  I watch both leagues consistenly and i can confidently say that the EPL is in no way  tougher/ more competitive than the other top European leagues (especially la liga). BUT, the top 4 in England are very strong and deserve all the hype they get. 

sorry if i'm ranting,  just get frustrated when i read people talking such $%^!**.

Well said krayola.

Wat are we talkin bout here. Barca of this season wil trash chelsea. If you've been watchin chelsea's games critically, you would discover that they r no match to barca. Well, i pity chelsea.

A league that can only win European laurels with only their 4 main clubs shouldn't be counted as a competitive league.

I pesonally feel barcelona's defence is suspect.

UP BARCELONA!!!

Chelsea is finished.

Man Citeh, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth are not EPL sides so they shouldnt count as failures in The EPL

dayokanu:

Man Citeh, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth are not EPL sides so they shouldnt count as failures in The EPL

What does that mean??




@topic, the form of defence is attack, that is Barca

Chelsea is going down, barca's attack is mad!

It is high time Chelsea fans should face reality and stop calling la-liga teams mediocre.Have they forgetten so soon that even the so called european champion was unable to defeat villareal both in England and Spain;and only a gift away goal by the refree was what earn Liverpool victory at hamfield against Athletico Madrid.Well barca are beatable only if Chelsea can choke their midfield;but i doubt it.Let wait and see;UP GUNNERS

tongues have started wagging again! when it was Liverpool-Chelsea, everybody declared the end of road for Chelsea.

Barca is the hottest team in the whole world now. yes! Before the Liverpool-Chelsea match, Liverpool was the form team in Europe.

U guys should be aware that football is not boxing where u can decide a fight before it starts. (remember Barca-

The better team will surely carry the day.

@tobaina why d beef all thru skl u beef till now u still dey beef why accept defeat Chelsea rules

11 outings

Barcelona : 6

Chelsea : 4

Draw : 1


Let the Rumble continue

The tie can go either way but i'm routing 4 barca

My heart goes out to Chelsea and their fans! Oh , how I wish I could see them in Rome, Next season, pray not to meet Barca again

@mayrho beef dey o! Strong beef. Nothing for chelsea. Chelsea cant match barca's unstoppable attack. You should know all these things. Its so obvious. Who u be sef

honeric01:

A league that can only win European laurels with only their 4 main clubs shouldn't be counted as a competitive league.

Only 2 clubs have won the Champions league in La Liga.
U have shot yourself in the foot, mate!!!

@tobaina was in your class live on your street wear glasses like you don't mention names pls
but who ever tot we could get past Liverpool and Arsenal