You had to feel sympathy for Chelsea on Wednesday...you just had to.
A plethora of penalty shouts (two of which probably should have stuck), a late, late heart-wrenching goal, and the absolute shattering of 180 minutes of tactically-perfect football – all in one moment.
Devastation...in football terms...rarely comes more distinguished.
However, there was another emotion – sitting parallel to sympathy – that every neutral felt as the shrill of the full-time whistle sounded at Stamford Bridge... Justice.
Justice that Didier Drogba – the very definition of the boy who cried wolf – would not be playing in a second Champions League final.
As insanity, rage, vitriol and conspiracy swelled out of the steaming Stamford Bridge cauldron on Wednesday night, Drogba yelled into the camera “a disgrace, a f*****g disgrace”.
He was right. His 72-minute performance of play-acting, diving and temper tantrums had been a disgrace.
This should not be read as a lambasting of his anger-fuelled post-match reaction which, although inexcusable, was inspired by passion and a desire to win.
This is a venting of sheer disgust at the blatant cheating that we see time and again from Drogba – the type of which would make any father embarrassed of his child.
If Chelsea want a scapegoat for their Champions League exit they should look no further than their Ivorian. An absolute bulldozer and one of the world’s top three strikers on his feet, but an absolute disgrace off of them.
Going to ground easily was rife at The Bridge, the Barcelona players just as guilty as Chelsea. But Drogba’s antics are different. That second-half moment when he leapt high to chest the ball down, felt Gerard Pique brush his back and then puffed his chest out like a fairy as he rolled around on the ground in total ‘agony’ – it was sickening to watch.
Is it any wonder referee Tom Ovrebo denied Drogba time and again when it only takes a gust of wind to knock the ‘powerhouse’ down? Drogba’s reputation goes before him, and Chelsea are suffering for it.
Anybody who disagrees, consider this: When Chelsea were battling for their lives in the dying seconds, where was Drogba? On the bench, nursing a ghost injury that strangely seemed to have disappeared by the time he went bounding up to the referee.
The only way to stamp it out is for his team-mates to show their own displeasure.
As much as Chelsea fans would hate to hear it, Jamie Carragher sets the example at Liverpool, giving Ryan Babel a piece of his mind the first time he hit the deck easily during his home debut. (Maybe Carragher might have the odd word with Gerrard too!)
The fact is, there is barely a defender in world football who can stop Drogba when he puts his body on the line, but there is barely a referee in the country who believes him when he goes down.
If Lamps and co want a scapegoat for their anger, they would be well advised to tell Drogba to stop shaming the club. The Drog has cried wolf too many times, and now nobody’s listening.