//------------------------------// // Into the Lion's Den // Story: Over Land and Sea // by Wessexbrony //------------------------------// Welcome to Hell. - Galatasaray fans’ banner which greeted Manchester United players, 1993 Wednesday 7th March “Ahead of Chelsea's crunch Champions League second leg match in Istanbul tonight, Mourinho has admitted that his side are in for a tough game,” Breaking News said, as Autumn continued writing her report from her and Lyra's recent visit to Ponyville, “As it stands, Chelsea need to avoid losing by two or more goals if they are to join Manchester United in the last eight. The home fans, meanwhile, have promised a hot reception for the Blues…” “What do you mean, you never received it?” Autumn asked incredulously, as she rang the visitation office, “Fine - I'll deliver another one, myself, tomorrow!” “Elsewhere, Liverpool are in prime position to qualify for the quarter finals tonight; they take a 2-0 lead back to the Allianz Arena…” “Nervous?” I asked Dinky, who was breathing heavily as the pundits gave their pre-match speculation. She nodded. “Perfectly normal to feel nervous before a game such as this,” I said. “After all, so am I.” “Well, this is where we find out what Chelsea are made of,” Kick Off announced, as the two teams walked onto the pitch. “A hostile crowd, two away goals conceded in the first leg but, crucially, they have a two goal lead from the first leg as well.” “Indeed,” Full Time added, as the teams lined up for the Champions League anthem, “They know that to stand any chance tonight, Galatasaray have to attack. In this case, the return of Carvalho is a huge boost.” Galatasaray looked to attack from the beginning, and five minutes into the match, Ballack conceded a free kick as he impeded Karan. The Galatasaray man squared up to Ballack, but the Portuguese referee, Olegario Benquerenca, quickly diffused the confrontation. The free kick itself was a waste, going harmlessly wide after Karan went for goal from 40 yards. Chelsea went on the attack five minutes later, with Robben getting down the right before seeing a cross caught by Mondragon. Most of the action was in midfield, the next chance not coming until the 25th minute. Arda Turan launched a long ball into the area, which Ashley Cole headed clear. Just after the half hour mark, John Terry was fouled by Karan in the centre circle. Lampard passed the free kick to Ferreira, who fed the ball to Makelele. Carvalho then took over, getting into the area before playing a short pass to Drogba. Drogba's shot was parried by Mondragon, as was the rebound before Song cleared. Chelsea's back four seemed to be spurred on by the return of Carvalho, and as the half entered the closing stages, a long ball by Karan was cleared by John Terry. As the half entered stoppage time, Akman passed to Karan, who held off Ashley Cole and got into the area before sending a tame shot harmlessly wide, before another speculative ball into the box from Karan was headed clear by Ashley Cole. Tempers were still running high at half time, with several Galatasaray players trying to square up to their Chelsea counterparts as the teams left the pitch. “This has been a solid defensive display from Chelsea so far,” Kick Off said, as, in the Traveller's Rest, even Rainbow Dash looked tense. “Even so, I can't help but feel that there's a red card coming,” said Full Time, “There's still a lot of bad blood between the two sides.” Full Time’s words would prove prophetic less than ten minutes into the second half. The second half started scrappily, with a half chance for each side, but then a pass from Ballack found Drogba, who went on a run into the Galatasaray half. As the Ivorian approached the area, he was brought down from behind by Song. Ballack and Carvalho rushed over, clamouring for a card, but Benquerenca shooed them away...before calling Song over and giving him his marching orders. Lampard went for goal from the free kick, and only a smart save from Mondragon prevented Chelsea from going ahead. The resulting corner was only cleared as far as Ashley Cole, whose shot went wide. As the match went on, Galatasaray realised that they were running out of time. With 25 minutes left, a cross from the left found nobody, with Cole booting it into touch. The resulting throw in threatened to cause trouble, but it was scrambled away by Carvalho. “Still goalless, as Chelsea look to break, and the news coming from the Allianz Arena is that Claudio Pizarro has given Bayern a 1-0 lead over Liverpool with fifteen minutes left…” With just over ten minutes left, a shot by Ashley Cole was parried by Mondragon, with Drogba sending the follow up wide. “Almost there…” I muttered, as the match entered the last five minutes and Dinky huddled up next to me. With a minute remaining, Galatasaray attempted to launch a desperate attack down the left. The attack, however, was thwarted by Boulahrouz, who cleared the ball deep into the Galatasaray half. “We’re through, that's it,” I said, giving Dinky's shoulder (for want of a better term) a reassuring rub. Three minutes later, Chelsea were, and it was. Galatasaray 0-0 Chelsea (Song s/o 54) Chelsea win 4-2 on aggregate “And the final whistle goes, and Chelsea have done what was required of them,” Kick Off said, “They have emerged unscathed from the lion's den to go through to the quarter finals. Carvalho did superbly tonight in his first start since that friendly in August, and that is what is called poetic justice!” In the Traveller’s Rest, Rainbow Dash was back to her usual self, as two Galatasaray players continued to remonstrate with the referee over Song’s red card. “So who can we get in the quarter final?” Dinky asked as I put her to bed. “Well, it's an open draw at this stage,” I said, “So it'll be one of” - I counted on my fingers - “Real Madrid, Man Utd, AC Milan, Lyon, Valencia, Barcelona or Liverpool.” Thursday 8th March “So what did you find?” Belladonna asked, as Autumn and Lyra entered her office. “We found that there is no risk to Ruby Pinch and, as such, the matter is closed.” Autumn said, placing the report on Belladonna’s desk. “Now if you excuse us, we have work to do.” “Here it is,” Autumn said, as she handed the form to a member of the visitation team, “Now I know you’re about to go for a team lunch at The Two Princesses, but please, sort this out as soon as possible because I need to send it to London, which means sending it through the two embassies.” Once again, however, she didn’t notice Belladonna hovering just out of sight, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation.