Barca on song, beat the blues

The match had all the drama and controversy it had promised and, though short on skill, offered enough glimpses to please the neutrals. It e...

The match had all the drama and controversy it had promised and, though short on skill, offered enough glimpses to please the neutrals. It ended with Barcelona beating Chelsea 2-1, taking a huge step towards the Champions League quarter-finals and ensuring that the return leg in Spain will, perforce, be attacking.

Chelsea side played with 10 men for most of the Stamford Bridge after Spanish left back Asier Del Horno was sent off in the 37th minute for a late challenge on teenager Lionel Messi.

It was Chelsea, though, who drew first blood, although with an own goal, when tumbling midfielder Thiago Motta knocked the ball into his own net from a Frank Lampard free kick in the 59th minute. But another own goal levelled the scores in the 71st when Terry headed into his own net from a Ronaldinho free kick before Eto8217;o popped up to score Barca8217;s 300th goal in Europe8217;s elite club competition as he climbed high to clinch the victory.

The match was played at a breath-taking tempo throughout with players from both sides displaying the highest technical ability on the difficult surface. However, the most dramatic moment of the first half came after 37 minutes when Del Horno clattered into Messi by the Chelsea goal-line.

After a fracas involving a dozen players Norwegian referee Terje Hauge showed the Chelsea fullback an automatic red card to the disgust of the home fans and bemused manager Jose Mourinho, who said it was unwarranted and ruined the game. There was no doubt Del Horno played the man and not the ball but TV replays suggested he tried to evade the Argentine.

The referee8217;s decision incensed the Chelsea players. 8216;8216;I can8217;t say strongly enough that when you have a big match like this you need a referee who is up to it8217;8217;, said Eidur Gudjohnsen. 8216;8216;It was too big of a decision in a game like this8230; Too much of the game was overshadowed by a refereeing incident. We would like to have a game with Barcelona when we have 11 players.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Del Horno didn8217;t touch him from what I saw but maybe the referee couldn8217;t overlook the move8217;8217;, said Hernan Crespo. 8220;Inside, I get the feeling that it was a sending off although I think it was less serious than it looked.8217;8217; Reuters