There are some moments that will live forever in Chelsea lore, from amazing goals to incredible saves and everything in between. One moment that we will never forget is one of the goals that helped Chelsea finally slay the Barcelona dragon at the Camp Nou en route to their first ever Champions League title.
The moment came in the second leg of a semifinal tie with the Spanish giants after Didier Drogba gave Chelsea a 1-0 lead in the first leg at Stamford Bridge. The Blues were up by a single goal on aggregate but Barcelona stormed out to an early 2-0 lead and John Terry was sent off for a rash challenge.
Chelsea were headed towards another tragic night against Barcelona until a moment of magic from Frank Lampard and Ramires turned the tide just before halftime. Lampard found Ramires racing behind Barca’s defense and the Brazilian chipped Victor Valdes from what felt like the halfway line to give Chelsea the slimmest of leads based on the now-defunct away goals rule.
The finish was incredible as Ramires was under pressure from all sides and the Spanish keeper was barelling down on him but he kept his composure and lofted in a perfectly placed ball. Ramires is not known for his goalscoring so the fact that he pulled this miracle off is a testament to his hard work and talent.
Ramires spoke about the goal to ChelseaFC.com and shared that he had been working on the chip in training which is also a testament to the old saying that “practice makes perfect.
Ramires said:
"‘We had training in the week before, we were doing some finishing and David [Luiz] came to me and said “Rami, when the goalkeeper comes, you must chip the ball”. I said okay, but in training I did one or two, but the ball did not go in the goal! Then in the game, I had that opportunity."
"‘Frank’s pass was amazing, the ball arrived for the one touch and finish. He put the ball in front of me and when I arrived there I chipped the ball, but I saw [Victor] Valdes coming and Dani Alves come from the left with another defender behind, [Carles] Puyol."
"‘I saw Valdes coming and if I shot to the side, maybe he could do the save, so when I saw the goal behind him I thought the only way is that, and I did it. When the ball dropped, I looked and I ran and then I looked again to see if the ball goes in. That was an amazing moment for me.’"Ramires speaking to ChelseaFC.com
This goal was the true difference maker in the tie as it gave Chelsea that slim lead on away goals even if some folks may misremember that. Thanks to the hype around the goal and Gary Neville’s incredible commentary, many believe that it was Fernando Torres’s deft finish around Valdes that sent Chelsea through to the Final but that was just the insurance goal that killed off the tie.
Barcelona would have needed two goals after the Torres finish to take the lead because they had failed to score in the first leg in London. To be fair to those fans, Barca was banging down the Chelsea door and tensions were at incredible levels before Torres sealed the deal with his greatest moment for the club.
Ramires would go on to win the FA Cup, League Cup, Premier League, and Europa League with Blues after capturing that Champions League in 2012. He would go on to score several more goals for Chelsea but none ever came close to the importance of his magical chip against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.