A Lionel Messi masterclass sent Chelsea crashing out of the Champions League as the Barcelona magician netted his 100th goal in the competition during a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou.
Messi scored twice and set up the other for Ousmane Dembele as the Argentina international proved the difference in a contest ultimately decided by his ruthless efficiency in front of goal.
It took the 30-year-old just two minutes to strike, squeezing a tight-angled shot through the legs of Thibaut Courtois, and while the Chelsea goalkeeper would be similarly embarrassed by Messi for Barca’s third goal just after the hour, in between time Chelsea gave as good as they got.
The visitors twice hit the woodwork, and had a Marcos Alonso penalty shout turned down at 2-0 shortly after the break, but were left to rue a lack of punch in the final third to make their adventure count.
Key errors at the other end compounded the Blues’ hopes of upsetting the odds after arriving in Catalonia knowing they could hardly afford such missteps.
Their first lapse was punished in full after barely two minutes as Messi put Barca ahead for the first time in the tie following the 1-1 draw in the first leg a fortnight ago.
There was some fortune about the goal, as the ball ricocheted into Messi’s path – albeit after he darted past a static defence – but Courtois should have done better, as he allowed the forward’s shot to sneak between his legs.
[latest_videos_strip category=”football” name=”Football”]
Any suggestion the early setback would destroy Chelsea’s spirit was dispelled as the visitors found routes into the final third to worry the hosts.
Boss Antonio Conte employed Olivier Giroud up front, freeing Eden Hazard and Willian to busy themselves behind the striker, and underline the free-wheeling verve the west London club had arrived with at one of Europe’s most daunting venues.
The Blues found clever angles and movement around the Barca defence to suggest at the very least the visitors intended to bare their teeth after the impotence of the recent performance at Manchester City when Hazard was employed as a false nine.
Barca’s defence was on full alert but any unease they felt was whipped away thanks to their talisman on 20 minutes.
Chelsea had sought to reload an attack when Messi snapped the ball away from his former Barca teammate Cesc Fabregas on the halfway line.
In the next few breathless moments, Messi accelerated away from both Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta, when he appeared second-favourite on both occasions to win the ball, and leave the away defence exposed.
In such moments Messi rarely picks the wrong option and this was no exception.
Luis Suarez’s clever movement demanded of the attention of the defence and created the space for Dembele’s late run that was fully rewarded by Messi’s vision, and perfectly weighted pass, which he duly lashed home.
If Barca’s path into the quarter-finals appeared to clear there was still 70 minutes to negotiate, and the plucky desire of Chelsea side whose Premier League frustrations had heightened the significance of this contest on their season.
Indeed, the match was an away goal from being back on a knife-edge and Chelsea played like a team that did not want to die wondering, as they settled back into their forward furrow to keep Barca on their toes.
The Blues came close to pulling a goal back on the stroke of halftime when Alonso struck a free-kick against the outside of the post and offer a timely warning to the hosts there was still work to be done in the second period.
Chelsea memorably sent Barca crashing out at the semi-final stage six years ago, before the Blues went on to win the Champions League, when ironically a missed Messi penalty proved the difference.
Thoughts of that night continued to linger as Chelsea pressed early in the second half with Gerard Pique needed to block at full length when Alonso found space down the left.
Alonso then had a claim for a penalty under pressure from Pique, who thrust out an arm when the wing-back got goal side of him, but the Chelsea man appeared to fall too easily when he had a clear sight on goal.
The referee waved away the penalty claims, instead brandishing a yellow card at Giroud for his protests, as Chelsea’s frustrations at failing to find a goal to reward their performance drew more obvious.
And their hopes were soon extinguished as Messi netted his 100th Champions League goal on 63 minutes.
Another Blues error was expertly punished, as Barca won the ball back high up the pitch and as the away defence backtracked Messi lurked in anticipation of his moment.
Suarez provided the pass and after a typical burst of pace took Messi past Azpilicueta and into space he slid his shot through Courtois’ legs for the second time to end the contest.
It was a bitter pill for Chelsea to swallow after they had also twice hit the woodwork in the first leg although, in a world where they had never conceded a Messi goal until a fortnight ago, the fine margins between success and failure were this time fully illustrated to them by arguably the greatest player to ever grace football’s stage.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
Kai Havertz has scored twice against his former team and Ben White also got a brace as Arsenal brushed aside a dismal Chelsea side…
Frankly, it was a bad look for Hayes. She appears like a grumpy and frustrated manager as her tenure at Chelsea is coming to an end.
Earlier in the season, Liverpool winning this fixture would be close to a foregone conclusion - but Chelsea have players who can win trophies.
Sam Kerr is reported to have agreed to a new deal to extend her medal-strewn stay at English champions Chelsea on the day her…
Nathan Ake's 88th-minute tap-in has helped Manchester City end their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo and progress into the FA Cup fifth round after a…
