A late strike from Andres Iniesta saw Barcelona snatch a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and a place in the UEFA Champions League final. Lionel Messi has finally bagged a goal against Chelsea as Barcelona held the Blues 1-1 in the Champions League round of 16.
Messi, who had not scored against the 2012 European champions before Tuesday’s clash, bagged a late goal to cancel Willians’ opener.
The Argentine had faced the west Londoners eight times without finding the net. Antonio Conte’s side had taken a 62nd-minute lead through Willian’s 25-yard strike before Messi profited from an Andreas Christensen mistake to convert from Andres Iniesta’s pass, ending his wait for a goal against Chelsea at the ninth time of asking.
The Blues now face a huge uphill task in the return game on 14 March to avoid a European exit which would only heighten speculation over Conte’s future as manager.
Apprehension permeated the air at kick-off, perhaps in part a consequence of Conte’s cautious team selection, opting to leave Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud on the bench in favour of deploying Eden Hazard as a false nine.
The Belgian flashed a fifth-minute shot off-target from the edge of the box as Chelsea held their own in the opening exchanges before Barcelona gradually asserted control.
Messi created some space for himself just outside Chelsea’s box and stood up a superb cross towards the far post where Paulinho was lurking unmarked. However, the Tottenham midfielder could only steer a tame header wide.
The visitors racked up 75 per cent possession by the midway point of the first-half yet it was Willian who twice came closest to scoring before the interval.
The Brazilian collected a pass from Hazard 25 yards out before driving past Sergio Busquets and sent a curling effort against Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s left-hand upright with the Barcelona goalkeeper rooted to his line.
