They unfurled a giant banner – “God Save the King” – prior to kick-off with Lionel Messi then making his regal presence felt as Barcelona swept Chelsea out of the Champions League.
The tifo is dedicated to Messi and the warning of Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte that his team would “have to suffer” to get through to the quarter-finals proved prophetic.
Except while they suffered they were knocked out and Messi, inevitably, inflicted the damage with two goals and a brilliant assist. He has now scored 100 times in 123 games in this competition. And both his goals here were nutmegs on goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
It means that the five English clubs who made it into the last 16 have been reduced to two with only Manchester City and Liverpool in the last eight. Not that Chelsea went out with a whimper like Manchester United. If it was not for Messi – an extremely big if – they may well have even prevailed with Willian their most impressive performer.
This was the 14th Champions League meeting between these two and despite the impression of Barcelona dominance, Chelsea came into it unbeaten in the last eight fixtures.
The sight of Messi pinging a practice free-kick from fully 30 yards into the top corner of the net, as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen stood rooted, before trotting over to finish his warm-up gave a sight of the scale of the task ahead.
They were soon cheering even louder – and for a moment that counted – and that counted badly against Chelsea and, in particular, their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Messi scored. Barcelona had held the ball, probing from side to side, for just over 90 seconds from kick-off before Antonio Rudiger slid in to concede a throw-in.
That was Chelsea’s first touch. From it, Barcelona passed and passed again and, this time, the second Chelsea touch of the game saw the ball cannon off Marcos Alonso and back to Luis Suarez who quickly found Messi. The angle was tight, too tight surely, but he drilled a low cross-shot that went between Courtois’s legs.
It was Messi’s 99th Champions League goal and his 601st in all and, apparently, the quickest he has ever scored. It also meant that he has scored in each of the three games he has played after the birth of one of his sons. There were 41 Barcelona passes before the goal – and not one by Chelsea. So Barcelona were ahead. Just two minutes and eight seconds had elapsed.
Chelsea knew they had to score, in any case, but now they had to score to force extra-time and Barcelona had not conceded twice at home in this competition for five years. A tall order had become even taller but, with Olivier Giroud starting at centre-forward, Chelsea began to push on. A Willian free-kick was diverted into the side-netting and then Ter Stegen held a low shot from the Brazilian.
It felt like Chelsea had responded well but, instead, they fell further behind to some more Messi magic. Cesc Fabregas lost the ball as he mis-controlled on halfway and Messi swept it away and was simply too quick for Andreas Christensen as he dived in and Cesar Azpilicueta as he tried to intervene. Messi was also too smart for the other Chelsea defenders as he switched the play across the pitch to Dembele who was unmarked.
Panic-stricken Chelsea had been drawn to Messi and Dembele drove a superb, powerful rising shot back across Courtois, who again appeared to react late. It was Dembele’s first goal for Barcelona, in what was his 12th appearance in an injury-hit first season, since his stunning £100 million plus move.
Again Chelsea reacted with Ter Stegen beating out Alonso’s first-time shot and then, surely, they should have scored when they worked N’Golo Kante clear but he wastefully stabbed the ball wide before, on half-time, Alonso was unlucky as his free-kick clipped the outside of the post.
Chelsea had played well and yet were two goals down. But they should have had a penalty when, soon after the re-start, Gerard Pique bundled over Alonso inside the area. It was not given and Giroud was booked for his protests.
Before that and Barcelona should have again scored themselves when Courtois passed the ball straight to Suarez although he managed to block the striker’s shot with his legs. Suarez held his head.
Messi ended it. Suarez gained possession and drove forward, slipping the ball to Messi who feinted past Azpilicueta and again fired the ball through Courtois’s legs.
Messi had taken three Chelsea defenders out with that movement and, again, the nutmeg looked deliberate. Soon after and Courtois palmed over a deflected Messi free-kick and then Messi tried to beat the goalkeeper direct from the resultant corner.
Courtois held that and did even better to push away a powerful header by substitute Paulinho from another corner before Chelsea’s Rudiger struck the goal-frame with a header also from a corner. But Chelsea had been royally beaten.
"I think tonight in these two legs, Messi made the difference. We are talking about the best player in the world, over the two legs we were a bit unlucky. We hit the post four times, in our best moment they scored, they were very clinical, we created many chances but didn't take them. "Every season finish he score 60 goals. We are talking about not a top player but a super top player. He made a difference but at the same time we have no regrets, I must be pleased for the commitment and behaviours of my players. I'm very proud. They gave everything tonight. "From the bench for me it was clear penalty. Yeh but now I not complain, we have to go, move on and prepare for the game against Leicester." Source:telegraph.co.ukAntonio Conte has no regrets
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