Chelsea trounce Liverpool, Barca win on aggregate

Chelsea and Barcelona are to meet in the UEFA Champions League semi-final clash after both teams drew with their rivals but won on aggregates. In an 8-goal thriller, England's Chelsea, last year's beaten finalists, fought back in their second leg semi-final match against Liverpool from 2-0 down at half-time at Stamford Bridge, London, to manage a four-all draw, which meant a 7-5 win for them on aggregate. Separately, the Catalan giants Barcelona eased through as expected after a 1-1 draw against Germany's Bayern Munich for a 5-1 aggregate. Six minutes into the second half, Didier Drogba opened scoring for Chelsea with a cross from Nicolas Anelka. At the 57th minute it was Alex firing a fearsome free-kick past goalkeeper Pepe Reina to restore the two-goal aggregate advantage. And later Frank Lampard made it 3-2. But this did not last for long. A deflected Lucas Leiva shot reawakened Liverpool's hopes, and when team-mate Dirk Kuyt headed in another one, there were only seven minutes to the final whistle. Lampard, scoring his second of the game for Chelsea, finished the show with only two minutes to go. He drilled the goal that, at last, proved decisive for the Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, making it 4-4. The Blues' Ashley Cole will miss the first leg of the final through suspension. Barcelona, meanwhile, managed an easy 1-1 draw with Bayern but won on a 5-1 aggregate. The Catalans' place in the final had been virtually decided in the first leg when Barcelona beat Bayern 4-0. Frenchman Franck Ribery gave Bayern the lead early in the first-half but that was wiped out when Seydou Keita scored in the 73rd minute. No Spanish side has ever won the treble of League, Kings Cup and Champions League, but Barcelona are on course to take all three titles as coach Josep Guardiola hopes to lead the Spaniards to a third European title after 1992 and 2006.