 Ronaldinho again proved the star for Barcelona |
Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League after a fine strike from Ronaldinho sent Barcelona into the last eight of the competition. The Blues' chances were limited, Didier Drogba heading tamely and Joe Cole flicking the ball just over, but they failed to sustain any real pressure.
Hernan Crespo sent a near-post shot wide for the visitors before Ronaldinho expertly fired in after 78 minutes.
A Frank Lampard penalty in injury time came too late for Chelsea.
The English champions caused controversy on Saturday in arriving late for the second half against an angry West Brom and they kept Barcelona waiting in the tunnel before the game at the Nou Camp.
But there were no signs of agitation from the Spanish champions and the early stages of the match were even-tempered and rather cagey.
Barcelona protege Lionel Messi's first touch brought a sliding tackle from Ricardo Carvalho before Chelsea threatened with a Cole cross which was just too high for Drogba.
 Lampard was a somewhat subdued figure at the Nou Camp |
The Catalan outfit then took a grip of the game and an audacious Ronaldinho flick put Messi through on goal, but his shot was blocked by a lunging Carvalho.
The visitors' defence was admirably nullifying the flamboyance of their opponents and they could have levelled 2-2 on aggregate if Drogba had been more clinical with a far-post header.
Barcelona suffered a setback when Messi went off with a hamstring injury after 24 minutes, with Henrik Larsson replacing him.
And, while the home side had more of the possession, Chelsea maintained a threat with an Arjen Robben run-and-shot saved by keeper Victor Valdes.
A back-tracking Valdes also breathed a sigh of relief when a flicked chip by Cole landed on the roof of his net.
The match failed to hit the heights of past encounters between the two teams and Jose Mourinho's reactions to some of the referee's decisions were highlights.
Chelsea tried to exert some attacking urgency into the game with the introduction of Crespo, who should have scored after Samuel Eto'o had forced a smart save from Petr Cech at the other end.
Crespo beat Carlos Puyol to Cole's near-post cross but shot agonisingly wide from close range.
Chelsea could not be criticised for their attacking efforts but lacked the cutting edge to break Barcelona's resistance.
Ronaldinho struck a 78th-minute shot after riding a John Terry challenge and, even though Lampard scored a late penalty, it proved nothing more than a consolation goal.
Barcelona: Valdes, Oleguer, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst, Deco, Edmilson, Motta, Messi (Larsson 25), Ronaldinho, Eto'o.
Subs Not Used: Jorquera, Belletti, Giuly, Sylvinho, Van Bommel, Iniesta.
Booked: Motta, Puyol.
Goals: Ronaldinho 78.
Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Joe Cole (Huth 83), Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Gudjohnsen 58), Robben, Drogba (Crespo 58).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Maniche, Geremi, Wright-Phillips.
Booked: Joe Cole.
Goals: Lampard 90 pen.
Att: 98,000
Ref: Markus Merk (Germany).
MMIX
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Great night for Barca, finally got revenge for last year, and really proved to everyone that we are the better team
