Barcelona 2 - 2 Chelsea

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Tuesday Oct 31 2006 12:00

Didier Drogba struck a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser as Chelsea virtually assured their qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-2 draw in Barcelona.Eidur Gudjohnsen looked to have returned to haunt his former club with a 58th minute strike to put Barca in the lead before Drogba scored his fifth goal in four European games to earn Jose Mourinho's side a precious point.

In between, Gudjohnsen was stretchered off after falling awkwardly following a challenge with Ricardo Carvalho and the result leaves Barcelona's hopes of progressing still hanging by a thread as they slipped to third place in the Group A table.

Barcelona started in positive fashion and took the lead after just three minutes.

Slack defending by Khalid Boulahrouz gifted possession to Deco and he scampered down the left wing before cutting inside and smashing a low right-foot shot past the despairing dive of Henrique Hilario in the Chelsea goal.

Ronaldinho should have made it two seconds later when he drilled over the top after excellent wing play from Lionel Messi.

Xavi was then denied by Hilario after the Spain international combined superbly with Ronaldinho and struck a first-time effort from 15 yards that the keeper palmed to safety.

Despite being under the cosh, Chelsea began to grow in confidence and, after Victor Valdes tipped over a powerful Michael Essien header and palmed away a crashing drive from Arjen Robben, the visitors pulled themselves back on level terms.Frank Lampard looked to have mis-controlled the ball in the box but, from a near impossible angle, scooped the ball over the head of Valdes and under the crossbar to silence the Nou Camp.

But Frank Rijkaard's side refused to be downbeat and restored their advantage on 58 minutes through Gudjohnsen.

Ronaldinho skinned Boulahrouz with a quick flick and stabbed the ball into the six-yard box for Gudjohnsen to slot home from close range.

Soon after Lampard went down in the box under a challenge from Xavi but Chelsea's penalty appeals were rejected by the referee who was kept busy on the night by a string of tetchy fouls and a constant stream of yellow cards.Michael Ballack then wasted a glorious chance to equalise with a wild shot over the bar before Drogba struck in the 92nd minute.

Terry headed the ball back into the danger area and the Ivory Coast striker controlled on his chest and rounded Rafael Marquez before stabbing home from close range amid scenes of wild jubilation on the pitch and also the Chelsea bench.

  • 90
    FULL-TIME: BARCELONA 2-2 CHELSEA
  • 90
    Paulo Ferreira replaces Ballack in a final change by Chelsea
  • 90
    BARCELONA 2-2 CHELSEA: DROGBA surely secures a point as Terry heads a cross back and the striker controls on his chest before stabbing the ball home from close range
  • 90
    Six minutes of time will be added
  • 90
    Carvalho now appears to catch his international team-mate Deco in a sensitive area following a clearance - this has been a really tetchy game
  • 89
    Essien makes it six Chelsea players in the book tonight for a needless hack on Marquez
  • 88
    Ballack flicks the ball off the toes of Giuly who was looking to connect with Iniesta's neat pass in the penalty area
  • 87
    Terry is booked for kicking the ball straight at Deco when he is lying on the ground
  • 87
    Chelsea will need to up their play in the final third if they are to sneak anything out of this match now
  • 85
    Kalou combines well with Cole and cuts the ball back for Ballack but he sweeps it well over the bar and a great chance goes begging
  • 83
    Andres Iniesta replaces Xavi for Barca
  • 83
    Terry stands firm to block Messi's run at goal as Barca break with real pace and purpose
  • 82
    Joe Cole is booked for his first meaningful contribution - a lunge on Edmilson
  • 79
    Barcelona look comfortable on the ball and the onus is on Chelsea here to attack if they want anything from this game
  • 77
    Ludovic Giuly replaces Gudjohnsen who has been stretchered off in some pain
  • 76
    Gudjohnsen goes down after stumbling over Carvalho and the way he landed looks really nasty - this could be a serious injury for the potential matchwinner
  • 75
    Chelsea replace Boulahrouz with Joe Cole in a bold move
  • 73
    Salomon Kalou replaces Robben for Chelsea
  • 70
    Essien clears acrobatically and takes a stamp in the nether regions from Marquez - that looked really painful and further action might be taken despite the referee not seeing it
  • 67
    Ronaldinho flicks the ball over the top but Gudjohnsen lashes it over with his left foot under pressure from Terry
  • 65
    Edmilson is booked now for a cynical foul on the advancing Carvalho
  • 65
    Lampard goes down in the box claiming a pull by Xavi following a Drogba flick over the top but the referee says no penalty
  • 64
    Gudjohnsen is booked for a challenge on Carvalho in the centre circle
  • 62
    Gudjohnsen could have had a second as Ronaldinho again cuts back but the former Chelsea man checks his run and can't reach the ball
  • 60
    Ballack clatters Messi as the niggly nature of the game shows no sign of abating
  • 58
    BARCELONA 2-1 CHELSEA: Ronaldinho skins Khalid Boulahrouz with a quick flick and stabs a cross into the six-yard box which GUDJOHNSEN slams home
  • 57
    Motta is replaced by Edmilson for Barca
  • 56
    Makelele tries his luck with a low drive from 35 yards which Valdes sees wide of his far post
  • 56
    Drogba goes to ground holding his face after a collision with Motta and not for the first time stays down and refuses to get to his feet despite being absolutely fine
  • 54
    Chelsea have played some scintillating stuff since half-time and Barcelona have barely had a sniff
  • 52
    BARCELONA 1-1 CHELSEA: LAMPARD scores from the most acute of angles over the head of the keeper and into the net
  • 51
    Robben lofts the ball over the bar from six yards after Cole and then Lampard cut open the defence and the latter delivers an inch-perfect low cross
  • 50
    Valdes gets down at the base of his post to block Robben's header from on the penalty spot - that's really good goalkeeping from the Barca No.1
  • 48
    Valdes comes out to punch clear and catches Puyol who stays down and will require attention
  • 47
    Puyol catches Drogba with a high boot and not for the first time tonight the Chelsea striker goes down theatrically
  • 46
    Barcelona begin the second half a goal to the good
  • 45
    HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-0 CHELSEA
  • 45
    Messi wins a free-kick 25 yards out but Ronaldinho's set-piece clatters into the defensive wall
  • 45
    Two minutes of stoppage time will be added
  • 44
    Despite the Barca protests it appears Lampard may have received the first yellow so Cole is right to remain on the pitch - there is still plenty of confusion though
  • 42
    Motta is booked now for a wild lunge on Essien
  • 40
    The fact remains that it's still 11 against 11 after those mad few minutes and we surely haven't heard the last of that
  • 38
    Messi is booked for trying to point out to the referee that Cole has already been booked - he is right unless somebody other than Cole was booked for the earlier incident?
  • 37
    There is total confusion here as Cole is booked surely for the second time tonight and avoids a red card - what's going on?
  • 36
    Makelele goes down in the box after colliding with Marquez but the referee waves play on
  • 34
    Valdes again has to be alert to palm behind a crashing Robben shot from a tight angle that was just sneaking in between keeper and post
  • 33
    Valdes denies Essien who had ghosted into the box to meet Drogba's lofted cross with a powerful ten-yard header
  • 32
    Messi nutmegs Cole with some superb footwork but is penalised for dragging the ball out of play when a break was on the cards
  • 29
    Robben joins his team-mate in the book for a wild lunge on Marquez on the edge of the Barca box
  • 27
    Drogba catches the heels of Gianluca Zambrotta and Cole is booked for arguing the decision
  • 25
    Lampard lofts the ball over the top but Puyol organises his defence well and the flag goes up for offside
  • 23
    Marquez stays down after landing on his back heavily and leaves on a stretcher
  • 22
    Xavi is denied by a great save from Hilario low to his left after he and Ronaldinho combine in breathtaking fashion to cut open the Chelsea defence
  • 20
    Cole flies down the left wing and beats Marquez before crossing but the referee whistles for a foul on the Barca defender
  • 18
    Michael Essien picks off a loose pass and runs at goal before squaring to Michael Ballack who drills just over from the edge of the penalty area
  • 16
    Motta now goes down holding his head after an altercation with Drogba and Rafael Marquez gets involved - the referee is taking no action though after a lot of posturing from either set of players
  • 14
    Drogba goes down on the halfway line holding his knee following an innocuous looking challenge by Motta
  • 12
    Ballack lofts the ball through to Drogba who is flagged offside but that's better from the visitors
  • 9
    Messi gets to the byline with a superb run and cuts back to Ronaldinho who drills over from 12 yards - that was a great chance to make it two
  • 7
    Cole wins possession on the halfway line and feeds Drogba but his shot is dragged well wide of the far post
  • 6
    Victor Valdes does well to punch away a free-kick under pressure from Terry
  • 4
    That's a huge early blow for Chelsea but they looked really casual in defence
  • 3
    BARCELONA 1-0 CHELSEA: DECO is allowed to cut in from the left flank and drill a low shot from the edge of the box past the dive of Henrique Hilario
  • 2
    Drogba pulls off the shoulder of Carles Puyol but can't control Frank Lampard's deep free-kick and it goes out for a goalkick
  • 2
    Leo Messi cuts inside Ashley Cole but his shot from the corner of the box is headed clear by John Terry
  • 1
    Chelsea get the game underway
  • 0
    Barca though need to win to stave off the threat of Werder Bremen who could pip the European champions to the runners-up spot in Group A
  • 0
    Chelsea won the last encounter 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Didier Drogba?s stunning strike but the Ivory Coast striker will operate as a lone marksman tonight after Andriy Shevchenko was ruled out through injury
  • 0
    Two of Europe's giants meet for the second time in as many weeks as Barcelona host Chelsea in the Champions League at the Nou Camp this evening

Statistics

Barcelona
Shots on target 3
Shots off target 3
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 17
Offsides 2
Corners 3

Chelsea
Shots on target 5
Shots off target 5
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 28
Offsides 1
Corners 4

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