Published 4/24/2012 11:19:24 PM by William Montero from soccermogul

A stunning rally and a stunning result on Tuesday as Chelsea went to Spain.  Fell behind 2-0.  Went down to ten men.  And then rallied to earn a 2-2 draw and eliminate powerful Barcelona in front of a shocked crowd at Camp Nou.

For the second time in two weeks, Chelsea withstood a never-ending onslaught from the Spanish powerhouse and displayed ruthless efficiency when rare opportunities finally presented themselves.  Were they the better team?  Not by any stretch of the imagination, but you don't always have to have the best team to win a soccer game.

Already leading 1-0 through Sergio Busquest Barca were in control.  As Barcelona were initiating another attack, Chelsea captain John Terry moved in behind Alexis Sanchez and dropped him with a knee in the back.  The linesman saw the punk move and Terry was red carded leaving Chelsea with ten men.  Just minutes later Andrew Iniesta gave Barca a 2-0 lead.

Game. Set. Match.  Wrong.

Completely against the run of play Chelsea grabbed a goal back as a Lampard longball sent Ramires on goal where he easily chipped Victor Valdes to make it 2-1 Barcelona at the break.  Advantage Chelsea though as the away goal had them in position to advance.  Barca would have to score again.

The second half was bunker ball as Chelsea dropped everyone back on defense to withstand the onslaught.  Attack after attack was turned away as Barcelona ran out of ideas.  It looked like they had their golden chance as Barca earned a penalty kick, but Lionel Messi sent it clanging off the crossbar.

Then with just minutes to play another longball sent Fernando Torres on a break where he rounded Valdes and scored easily.  Chelsea were giant killers.

"We knew this is how we had to play against Barcelona, even if sometimes it's not so attractive," said Torres, who replaced Drogba with 10 minutes left. "We used our strengths well and it worked for us in both games. They had their chances but they didn't finish and Ramires' goal gave us life."

Now Chelsea awaits the result of tomorrow's Bayern Munich - Real Madrid match to find out their opponent in the Champions League Final.

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