Lionel Messi finally ended his hoodoo against Chelsea as Barcelona battled back to earn a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Match Summary
Antonio Conte’s side had the upper hand in the first half, creating several solid chances, though luck favoured Barcelona as Willian struck the woodwork twice.
The energetic Brazilian eventually broke the deadlock with a lovely strike after the break, but a defensive error allowed Lionel Messi to equalise, giving Ernesto Valverde’s team a priceless away goal ahead of the second leg in Spain.
Full Report
Barcelona held most of the possession in the opening half, but failed to create clear opportunities or test the Chelsea goalkeeper.
The game’s early chances mostly belonged to Chelsea, with Eden Hazard narrowly missing with a left-footed shot from outside the box after cutting in from the right, and Antonio Rudiger heading wide from a corner.
Messi’s clever cross found Paulinho, but his header went just wide, showing Barca’s rare threat at that stage.
The Blues finished the first half strongly, with Marcos Alonso forcing a steady save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a long-range free-kick, followed by Willian smashing the ball against the right post.
Gerard Pique’s headed attempt was off target under pressure, and Willian rattled the left post moments later with a fierce strike.
Hazard almost scored before the interval, volleying over after a half-cleared free-kick from Cesc Fabregas.
In the second half, Andres Iniesta missed a good shooting opportunity from distance early on, but Willian made no mistake when a short corner found him, as he powered a shot inside the right post past Ter Stegen from the edge of the box.
Barcelona’s equaliser came after a slip-up with a loose pass by Andreas Christensen, which Iniesta intercepted and cut back to Messi, who coolly finished low past Thibaut Courtois.
Both teams searched for the winner in the closing minutes, but neither goalkeeper was seriously troubled, leaving Barcelona with a valuable away goal to take home.
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1
- Willian unlucky with two posts
- Both goalkeepers stood firm in the decisive moments
- Messi capitalised on defensive error to equalise
- Barcelona secures important away goal for second leg
© TEAMtalk Media
