Barcelona face Valencia in semis

Rivaldo struck in the 24th and 99th for a campaign-high 10 goals. Captain Luis Figo (45th), substitute Dani (83rd) and Patrick Kluivert (104th) scored Barca’s other goals in front of 98,000 delighted Nou Camp fans.

Tore Andre Flo was on target for Chelsea, who had defender Celestine Babayaro dismissed for a last-man foul on Figo in the 99th.

Meanwhile, Valencia could afford a 1-0 defeat on the night against Italian heavyweights Lazio from Juan Sebastian Veron’s 51st minute strike because advanced into their first ever Champions League semi-finals from a 5-2 win in the first-leg.

The semi-final pairing already assures Spain of one place in the May 24 final in Paris’ Stade de france.

Barcelona’s chances had been rated minimal going into Tuesday’s game as the team had lost four straight games on the continent and domestically after a 3-0 league win over Valencia April 2, their only win over the upcoming opponents in the last six games.

In the 24th, Rivaldo fired a curling 25m freekick which took a deflection off the head of Babayaro. Barca doubled the lead seconds before half-time when figo drilled the ball home on the rebound after Kluivert fired against the left post.

Chelsea’s hopes were revived on the hour when Flo was gifted a goal by a terrible blunder from Barcelona keeper Ruud Hesp, who passed the ball right to the Norwegian.

Now it was up to Barcelona to score again and the substitute Dani responded heading home Barca’s third in the 83rd off Josep Guardiola’s freekick.

The Spaniards were heart-broken in the 86th when Rivaldo sent his first spot-kick wide left. But the Brazilian dared to attempt, and converted, a second penalty in the 99th for a 4-1 advantage and Kluivert’s header in the 104th ended Chelsea’s hopes.

The only bad news for Barca is the fact that Figo will be suspended for the first leg in Valencia, whose firm defence denied Lazio a comeback effort similar to Barca’s.

The Romans only applied some serious pressure on Valencia’s rear-guard in the second half. Their goal came in the 51st and had the trademark of Veron, who beat Jose Canizares with a spectacular right-foot blast from 30 metres in front of a 50,000-strong crowd.

The next minutes were all for Lazio, but Simone Inzaghi had his header stopped by Canizares, who later also denied Sergio Conceicao. (DPA)