Chelsea, Barcelona and Di Matteo

Sure, it wasn't pretty, and yes, perhaps to stand a decent chance at the Nou Camp, it would have been beneficial for Chelsea to score another goal.  But the fact is that tactically that was an incredibly professional performance from Chelsea this evening.
They didn't press against Barcelona, the way we have seen so many teams do to no effect in the past.  This only serves to open up key space in the middle of the field, and if there's one thing you don't want to give to the Catalans giants, it's space.   Instead, when defending, Chelsea opted to put men behind the ball, in two clear lines that were well drilled and organised, forcing mistakes and improving the chance for interceptions. They weren't afraid to let Barcelona have the ball.  More to the point, this meant that when the Blues did get the ball back, they had people around with wish to pass to and, barring the last 10 minutes, didn't have to resort to hoofing it up the field and thereby lose possession.
A few times, as Barcelona changed their formation (as they often do), Chelsea responded with similar shape changes of their own, which , coupled with the gargantuan effort their players put in, meant that the Catalan threat was neutralized to the point that Messi ended up playing so deep he barely had a say in the game.
John Obi Mikel had perhaps the best game I've seen him play.  He worked tirelessly to win the ball, and link up with the players around him, showing an intelligence and awareness above his form this season. Credit where it's due, he has been playing better under Di Matteo, but tonight's performance shows that he may yet have a bright future ahead of him.
Which brings me to Matteo. Modest, Unassuming Roberto.  No doubt after such a victory, the speculation over his future at Chelsea will increase.  There is no doubt he is a talented manager.  In my opinion he was sacked early by West Brom, as they were playing quality stuff, but as we all know, football is a results business.  He hasn't had that problem at Chelsea.
The problem he will have however, is the patience of the owner.  Like it or not, Chelsea have some major rebuilding to do.  They have a first team that probably has more players in their 30's than 20's.  He has done a fantastic job this season and deserves the praise that he is receiving.  Whatever happens with the second leg of the semi-final, in my opinion Di Matteo should say, "Thanks, but no thanks", and with his head held high, relinquish the manager's position, much like Hiddink did. Of course, before that, there's still the small matter of an F.A. Cup Final and Barcelona away to attend to....