It wasn't pretty. It probably wasn't even deserved. But we have our dream Champions League final after Barcelona's incredible escape at Stamford Bridge set up a date with Manchester United. If you have a friend who is at all on the fence about this sport, make sure he or she is in front of the television on May 27 because this will be a classic.
Truth be told, I'm glad the final won't be for another three weeks, because Barcelona needs a couple of La Liga matches to regain some of its shine and to remove the stench from Wednesday's truly horrid performance. And hopefully it will be enough time for the controversy surrounding Chelsea's elimination to dissipate.
Like most neutrals, I was pulling for Barcelona and make no apologies about it. Although I recognize Chelsea has its virtues and is every bit the equal of the Catalan giants, I have this funny thing about wanting to be entertained when I watch a soccer match.
Barcelona plays the game the way I like to see it played -- controlling possession, taking the initiative at all times, attacking in numbers. And Wednesday's horror show doesn't detract from what a joy it has been to watch the Blaugrana this season. Every team, no matter what style it plays, is succeptible to off days when nothing goes right.
But none of that negates the fact that Chelsea was hard done by the referee. The Blues should've had anywhere from one to five penalties, depending on your point of view -- and one is all it would have taken to ice the game and set up another English final.
Even Eric Abidal's ludicrous sending off, which had no impact on the flow of the game, doesn't even up the score. The play that culminated with the clearest of all the penalty appeals -- Gerard Pique's handball -- would've occurred just the same with Abidal on the field.
Regardless, the two Chelsea-Barcelona matches confirmed the strength of the English Premier League in relation to the rest of Europe. It's impossible to ignore the contrast between Barcelona's performances against the likes of Lyon, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and those against the Blues, which brings me back to the final.
With Manchester United now fully recovered from a recent dip in form and Cristiano Ronaldo as decisive as ever, the Red Devils must be favored to retain the trophy. This is assuming, of course, they can overcome the loss of Darren Fletcher, who has apparently morphed into Roy Keane given the incredible fuss being made over his red card.
Barcelona will be shorthanded, too, but based on Wednesday's game, not having Daniel Alves might be a blessing. (Does anybody still think Brazil coach Dunga is getting it wrong by opting for Maicon?) Pep Guardiola will be forced to shuffle his defense, but he shouldn't overreact (as he did against Chelsea) and reshape his entire midfield in the process.
Then again, both managers have been rolling snake eyes lately. Alex Ferguson sends out an extremely conservative lineup against Arsenal to brace for the Gunners' onslaught, and Arsenal gifts United two goals in the first 10 minutes to make him look like a genius.
It's further proof that for all the time we spend analyzing games and attempting to find logic behind every result, matches are often decided by isolated episodes, beyond our grasp. The final between Barcelona and Manchester United will likely come down to such an episode.
Hopefully, it is not a refereeing decision, rather than a flash of brilliance from one of the many gifted players who will be on display in Rome.