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Chelsea clean up Lionel Messi as Didier Drogba rocks Barcelona
DIDIER DROGBA gave Chelsea a precious lead in their Champions League semi-final showdown with Barcelona – and manager Roberto Di Matteo declared that once again his old guard had proved their doubters wrong.
Drogba, 34, grabbed the only goal of a heroic backs-to-the-wall Chelsea display at Stamford Bridge in first half added time with, amazingly, their only shot on target.
Di Matteo’s men now have the lead they wanted to take into Tuesday’s second leg at the Nou Camp – despite being battered by Barcelona for almost the entire 90 minutes last night.
Roberto Di Matteo has put his support behind Chelsea's old guard
Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, other members of the Chelsea veterans’ brigade who were at one point discarded by previous manager Andre Villas-Boas, also had superb games.
It is not just Didier. There were other players out there they call the old guard. But they gave an answer on the pitch
Di Matteo said: “Public opinion has been that some of these boys are over the hill, too old to play two games in a short space of time, to play at this level. It is not just Didier. There were other players out there they call the old guard. But they gave an answer on the pitch.”
Di Matteo, whose team have now won 10 out of their 13 games since he took over, added: “This was our biggest challenge. It’s a great result. This group of players has shown determination and courage against the top team in the world. We knew we were going to be under pressure – Barcelona do that to everyone. But when you score a goal and win the game, you deserve to win it.”
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Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s No 1 candidate to take the manager’s job permanently in the summer, remarkably admitted that Chelsea are now favourites to go through to the final in Munich on May 19.
Guardiola, whose team had an astonishing 72 per cent possession and 24 shots on goal, said: “One-nil is a good result for Chelsea and they are the favourites now. But we have a challenge to come.
“We will have to create as many chances as we can and take them.”
Barcelona's Carles Puyol (left) cuts out a pass intended for Chelsea's Didier Drogba
Chelsea skipper John Terry said: “This will go down as one of our best performances. We didn’t touch the ball in the first 10 or 15 minutes and we had to work very hard.
“Didier was incredible. He was up there against some of the best in the world on his own, but he held the ball up and made us play.”
Barcelona's Lionel Messi (right) is consoled by Chelsea's John Terry