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Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi finally opened his account against Chelsea with a 75th-minute equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw in a fascinating Champions League last 16, first leg duel at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Willian's superb 62nd-minute effort looked like giving Chelsea a precious advantage for the second leg in Spain but they undid all their good work by handing Messi an equaliser.
The Argentine maestro, teed up by Andres Iniesta, struck a low shot past keeper Thibaut Courtois for his first goal in nine attempts against Chelsea.
As expected, Barca dominated possession but Antonio Conte's Chelsea side were unfortunate not to end with a victory after Willian was twice denied by the woodwork before halftime.
The second leg is on March 14 at the Nou Camp.
Chelsea XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Pedro.
Subs: Caballero, Cahill, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Morata
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets; Paulinho, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez
Subs: Cillessen, Denis, Dembele, Digne, Gomes, Vidal, Vermaelen
CHELSEA VS BARCELONA IN PICTURES
KEY EVENTS
Thanks folks
Well then, that’s all from us ladies and gents.
We’ll be back tomorrow evening when Manchester United are in Sevilla for their first leg.
There could be fireworks there.
Tonight, Lionel Messi has left Chelsea with it all to do ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou.
Keep up with all the latest news and info on Mirror Football.
See you soon!
JOHN CROSS
Messi was frustrated against Chelsea... but then he came alive
Lionel Messi finally delivered at the ninth time of asking.
Just when you thought Barcelona were running out of time and ideas, up stepped Messi to break hearts at Stamford Bridge.
It just had to happen. In fact, the more we talked about Messi not scoring in his eight games against Chelsea the more inevitable it was that he would finally break his duck this time.
Chelsea’s defensive suicide, Andreas Christiansen breaking Sunday League rules of playing the ball across his own box allowed Barcelona in and Messi did not miss this time after being set up by Andres Iniesta.
Quotes from Conte
“I think that it was very close, we made only one mistake,” explained Conte. “As you know very well, when you make a mistake against Barcelona - the best players like Messi, [Luis] Suarez and [Andres] Iniesta -you pay [for it].“It’s a pity because I’m very proud of the players for the game and they followed what we prepared and planned. I also think tonight we were a bit unlucky - maybe we deserved a bit more.“I think in the second leg, we have to play our game against Barcelona. This team is very strong - a fantastic team - but I think the final result is open.“It will be very difficult because it’s not simple to play away against them but at the same time I think our performance must give us confidence.”
Fabregas on the result
Former Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas hopes the Blues can bounce back from the draw in the second leg on March 14.
He said:
“It was such a shame really. I thought we were very good and went with the game plan and we executed it really, really well. They had a few chances, they are one of the best teams in the world.“But we were compact, we were solid, we played as a team, we created many chances. Willian could have easily scored a hat-trick today.“So overall a fantastic performance (but) in the end a shame. We go home thinking we completed a good work, we competed very well (and) we should be proud of that but at the same time we go home sad. It was an unfair result.“(The game) it’s still open, but we know we have to play a very excellent same again to compete.“(To play) 90 minutes there (at the Nou Camp) defending - can be a very long 90 minutes, it’s basically a suicide mission. We have to feel that we can hurt them.”
KEY EVENT
PLAYER RATINGS
Chelsea and Barcelona could not be separated at Stamford Bridge but the Catalan giants will take an away goal back to the Nou Camp.
Blues forward Willian hit both posts in the first half as Barcelona dominated possession but Chelsea enjoyed the better chances.
And the Brazilian was given too much time and space on the hour mark when he placed the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the opposition goal.
Barcelona were gifted the chance to level 15 minutes of time when Andreas Christensen’s sloppy pass fell to Andres Iniesta and he set up Lionel Messi for his first ever goal against Chelsea.
Everyone made the same joke when Lionel Messi scored
It happened.
It finally happened.
KEY EVENT
5 talking points
Lionel Messi’s cool 75th minute finish ensured Barcelona will return to Catalunya with the advantage after securing a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their Champions League second round first leg clash.
Antonio Conte’s excellent counter-attacking game plan was undone by one misplaced pass from young defender Andreas Christensen, picked upon by Andres Iniesta, who teed up Messi to finish with aplomb.
Willian had handed Chelsea the lead in the 62nd minute, firing home from 20 yards to hand the Blues a deserved lead, the Brazilian having already twice hit the post.
Neither side will be too unhappy with that result, although Chelsea will certainly feel slightly disappointed at failing to leave with what would have arguably been a well-deserved 1-0 win. All it took was one mistake from the home side, which was pounced upon by Messi and slotted into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. The second leg is set to be another fascinating encounter!
KEY EVENT
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
And that’s that folks!
Lionel Messi’s goal means its advantage Barcelona heading to Catalunya in three weeks time.
Antonio Conte’s gameplan worked wonderfully...one poor pass apart.
FULL-TIME: CHELSEA 1-1 BARCELONA
90+3 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Morata is penalised for a handball, and Barcelona are presented with one final opportunity to push forward. They move the ball around quickly before trying to find space down the right wing, but they're unable to do so and have to head back to the halfway line. That should be that.
90+2 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Alba pushes into the Chelsea half of the pitch and quickly tries to tee up Suarez just outside of the hosts' penalty area. The striker leaves the pass for a team-mate, but there's nobody there to meet the ball and it rolls straight into the hands of Courtois.
90+1 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Iniesta is serenaded by the travelling fans as he makes way for Gomes for the final minute or so.
90 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Hazard dances his way through the middle of the pitch as he heads towards the Barcelona box. He's unable to get the better of Busquets, however, as the midfielder sticks out a foot and cynically trips the Belgian to the ground to earn himself a late yellow card.
90 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
The fourth official has indicated that there will be three minutes of added time.
90 minsSTATS
Overall Possession Ratio
Possession
88 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Barcelona have taken their foot off the pedal slightly, allowing Chelsea to see more of the ball as we near the 90-minute mark. The hosts are struggling to do much with it, though, and Barcelona eventually win a free-kick on the halfway line after Suarez is clipped by Drinkwater as they battle for a loose ball.
85 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Chelsea string together a good series of passes and do well to win themselves a free-kick 30 yards away from goal. It's sent short and eventually worked over to Moses, who believes he's won his side a corner with a deflected long-range strike but instead gives away a goal-kick.
86 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Morata was especially convinced that Chelsea should have been awarded a corner, and he's quickly booked by the referee for dissent.
84 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
And now the hosts have made their second switch, with Fabregas making way for Drinkwater.
82 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Umtiti clumsily runs the ball out of play, and it presents Chelsea with a corner over on the right flank. It's swung over to the far post and finds Rudiger, who tries to nod the ball down to Christensen in front of goal but can't quite keep it in play.
83 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Chelsea have made their first change of the night with Morata coming on to take the place of Pedro.
79 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Suarez darts down the left flank as he tries to latch onto the ball in a promising position. It initially looks as if he's managed to get the better of Christensen, but he's penalised for pulling back the Danish centre-back.
80 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Rudiger dives into Roberto and catches the right-back on the top of the foot with a late challenge, leaving the referee with no choice but to show him a yellow card.
78 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Willian latches onto a deflected ball just outside of the Barcelona box and quickly sets up Moses to his right. The wing-back takes a touch and shoots, but Alba is there to make sure the strike doesn't test Ter Stegen.
KEY EVENT
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (Messi)
And we’re level.
And Messi has his goal.
It’s taken him 730 minutes to strike against Chelsea, but he was never missing this one.
Iniesta rolled it back, and the Argentine finished with aplomb.
Lovely finish.
73 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Chelsea are temporarily down to 10 men as Willian receives treatment for a bloody nose. Barcelona try to make their numerical advantage count, but Iniesta can't get the better of Fabregas inside the penalty area and the home side hold on.
76 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
Suarez reacted incredibly angry to not being awarded a penalty, and he's shown a yellow card for dissent after the Barcelona celebrations die down.
75 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
GOAL! Barcelona have equalised! Moments after Suarez goes down inside the box without winning a penalty, the visitors make Chelsea pay for a sloppy piece of defending. A poor pass from Christensen rolls across the edge of the penalty area and finds Iniesta, who quickly tees up Messi to beat Courtois with a brilliantly placed finish into the bottom corner of the net.
75 minsMINUTE BY MINUTE
That was a really bad mistake by Christensen, but Iniesta did well to make it count. He could have gone for goal himself but put the ball on a plate for Messi instead.
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