Can Chelsea overcome Messiful Barcelona?

Chelsea will host FC Barcelona at the Stamford Bridge in the first leg semi final match that will be played at the Stamford Bridge. Chelsea defeated Benfica by three goals to one after two quarter final matches that were played in London and Lisbon. Salomon Kalou scored the only goal at the Stadium of Light  Raul Meireles scored Chelsea's winning goal at the Stamford Bridge when they overcame the Portuguese side by two goals to one. There are strong doubts whether the Blues will get to the final of this year's UEFA Champions League. Chelsea have lost to big teams like Arsenal,Liverpool,Manchester City and Manchester United this season. Although the return leg of the Man City game ended in a win for the Blues, but the superior fire-power of the Catalans in the midfield and attack. Lionel Messi has scored a over 60 goals this season. That record is more than the total number of goals all Chelsea strikers have scored this term. Andreas Iniesta and Xavi are still as deadly as they were last season. These are some of the best players in the game. Pedro and Fabregas are other players that will add to the strength of the Spanish side.

On the other hand, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres are the danger men up front while Ramires MUST be on the starting line up if Roberto di Matteo want to have any chance of getting a draw against the star-studded Barcelona squad. Jose Bosingwa should pave way for Branislav Ivanovic at the right back position. It will be almost IMPOSSIBLE for Chelsea to beat the reigning Champions. However, it will be the delight of every Chelsea fan to see their team in this year's Champions League final. 

Granada grounded by Merciless Messi!

Argentine playmaker, Lionel Messi showed no mercy at the Camp Nou when he scored a brace to help his side beat Granada 5-3 in a La liga match that was played last night. His hat trick was enough to make him Barcelona's all-time top scorer with 234 goals. Xavi Hernandez opened the scoring after 4 minutes of action. The Spanish International got an assist from Lionel Messi. In the 19th minute, Cuenca's cross was headed away, but Messi was on hand to volley the ball into the net, though the ball came off the post. The first 45 minutes ended 2-0 in favour of Pep Guardiola's men. After the restart, Martins delivered a pin-point free kick that was nodded home by Diego Mainz to reduce the deficit by a goal. Granada got an equaliser when Guilherme Siqueira sent Victor Valdes the wrong way to make it 2-2 from the penalty spot. Dani Alves committed the foul that led to the goal. The visitors were caught napping when Dani Alves lobbed the ball over their defenders, leaving Messi with no other choice than to score his 234rd goal for Barcelona. Tello made it 4-2 after 82nd minute. Xavi and Messi exchanged brilliant passes before passing the ball to Tello to slot in the goal. Messi made it 5-2 four minutes later as he dribbled Granada goalie (Cesar) to complete his hat trick which was also his 34th La liga goal of the season. Siqueira grabbed his brace from the penalty spot after Alves was sent off by the referee. The game eventually finished 5-3 in favour of Barcelona.

Lionel Messi

"Messiful" Barca white-wash Leverkusen

Reigning World Player of the year, Lionel Messi was a five star attraction yesterday. The Argentine forward scored five goals for FC Barcelona in a Champions League match that was played at the Camp Nou. Messi has created a new scoring record in the history of the tournament. Bayer Leverkuen were trailing the Pep Guardiola led team by three goals to one from their first leg defeat at the Bay Arena, but the Germans suffered their heaviest defeat in the history if the competition. The game eventually ended 7-1. Two first half goals from Messi indicated the intention of the defending Champions for a goal spree that was completed in the second half of the match. The Germans left their defence unguarded on several occasions and Barcelona players like Xavi,Insiesta and Keita exchanged accurate passes in the midfield to get the ball behind the German defence. Messi's first goal came in the 25th minute when he latched on to a pass from Xavi to chip the ball over the Leverkusen goalie. A dazzling run from the left side of the visitors was made by the Argentine in the 44th minute to double his team's advantage on the night. It was 3-0 after 49 minutes as Messi chipped the ball over Leon(goal keeper) to complete his hat trick.

 Debutant Christiano Tello also grabbed a brace in the match before Messi scored two more goals for his team. Bellarabi's late consolation was too little as the Germans crashed out on a 10-2 aggregate. The Catalans equalled the biggest scoreline in the knock out phase of the Champions League that was set by Manchester United in 2007. That match ended 7-1. Barcelona have joined AC Milan,Benfica and Apoel Nicosia in the last eight of the competition.