Chelsea 1 - 0 Barcelona

I've tried to refrain from the usual "when powerhouses collide" when I watched this match, being in the group stage and all, but it's hard to ignore it when you see a few hundred pounds worth of players on the pitch. Chelsea lead Group A coming into this match, two points ahead of champions Barcelona, and although it's likely both superclubs will advance to the knockout stage, there was the same sense of drama we saw the last few times they met.

Jose Mourinho's been busy whining as usual, and losing two of football's best keepers before this clash pissed him off to no end. Hilario, known for a poor performance nine years ago against Man Utd at Old Trafford, was deputized between the sticks and a familiar Blues 4-4-2 with the much-maligned Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba up front, the diamond of Claude Makalele, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack in midfield, and Khalid Boulahrouz, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry and Ashley Cole lined up in the back

Barcelona played their 4-4-3 with Eider Gudjohnsen returning to Stamford Bridge starting in place of injured Samuel Eto'o just in front of Lionel Messi and Ronaldhino. Xavi, Edmilson and Deco formed the midfield, and Gianluca Zambrotta, Carlos Puyol, Rafa Marquez and Giovanni von Bronkhorst rounded out the back line. I have to say that the new orange kits Barca's wearing are probably some of the worst I've ever seen, barring the previous nude-colored ones they wore a few years back.

There was no real width from Chelsea in the majority of the game, with Arjen Robben on the bench, and while Barca attempted to play their slick passing game against the stolid defense of the Chelsea, we didn't get the open game we were hoping for in the first half.

The 17th minute saw a chance for Drogba, who ran onto a ball from Essien in the Barcelona box and either took a shot or tried to lay it down for Sheva to run onto, but the ball was slowed by Zambrotta. Shevchenko had a chance just feet from the line, but was taken out by Marquez. Unlucky for Chelsea, as Sheva easily could have been awarded a penalty kick.

The majority of scoring threats came from the Catalan side in the first half, however, with Hilario making a few nice saves when Barca was able to penetrate. A shot from Xavi in the 30th after a nice run of play saw the 3rd choice keeper do well to parry it away. At the half, there were very little surprises. Ronaldinho, who's consistency eludes him at times was virtually unheard from, as Sheva was equally ineffectual. Essien continued to shine in the packed midfield, and Lionel Messi was a constant threat to the Chelsea defense, exposing John Terry at times, but the the most interesting aspect of the match was the two sides different styles of play meeting on the pitch. Barca was by far the most pleasing on the eye, with Chelsea giving them problems on set pieces.

The second half kicked off with a strike from Drogba in the 46th minute that got past Victor Valdes from a nice ball in from Ashley Cole. Drogba continues to impress (and overshadow Shevchenko), and he did well with this goal, faking out Rafa Marquez and giving himself a load of room to take the shot.

Barca came close to equalizing with a nice long ball in to Chelsea's far post from the right, where Ronaldinho sat free to head the ball across the face of goal, but no orange shirts were there to knock it in. Minutes later, on a free kick, Ronaldinho nearly curved it in, but Hilario was there to save it.

Another chance for Chelsea came minutes later and was wasted when Essien took the ball from Messi and broke on a counter-attack. With only two defenders in front of him, he decided to go it alone, instead of laying the ball off to Carvalho and Sheva in support, and found his shot blocked by Valdes.

Rijkaard subbed in Iniesta for Gio, and Barca played three at the back, something I'd love to see more often in matches, and Ludovic Giuly came in for Eider Gudjohnson, with Ronaldinho and Messi moving up, with the hope of Giuly providing some pace in the middle. Barca's last sub was Oleguer in for Puyol, and you knewRijkaard was looking to go forward. One could definitely say the game opened up considerably in the second half, with Chelsea playing with more creativity and Barca doing well in responding to their goal. Shevchenko was shown on the sideline, with Mourinho barking instructions, and it's clear the $50M signing hasn't been able to find his touch.

Mourinho subbed in Robben for Shevchenko in the 77th, and you had to wonder if he should have done so earlier, especially since the diving Dutchman seemed to do more with his touches than Sheva. The overwhelming feeling I got from watching this was just how much Barcelona misses Eto'o. They seem to lack that striker up front that can sniff out goals. For Chelsea, they did what they needed to, and Boulahrouz did quite well to shut down Ronaldinho. You sensed the desperation in Barcelona, so much that they were sending in long balls as the end came near. Hats off to Didier Drogba, though. The Ivory Coast international was seemingly everywhere during the match, and of course, was responsible for the lone goal in the game.

Chelsea see themselves at the top of Group A, five points clear of Barcelona, and the Catalan side find themselves in the insecure position of being tied for second with Werder Bremen, who also have four points. Barca's class and style lend well to almost any match, but the defensive stalwart that Mourinho created was too much for the European champions to penetrate through.

Drogba strike sees off Barça [UEFA]

-bl