FC Barcelona 5 Chelsea 1

FC Barcelona win 6-4 on aggregate after extra time

The Catalan home fans set the tone for this match with a colourful card display as the teams entered the Camp Nou arena.

All across the banks of seats fans stood and held up cards saying '2-0'.

This was the Spanish champions' target for the night and they reached it in the 45th minute.

A tactical battle saw few chances from the home team but they got the luck they needed in the 24th minute as World Player of the Year Rivaldo scuffed a free kick with his left foot but caught the head of Chelsea defender Celestine Babayaro and looped across the visitors goal into the net. Chelsea goalkeeper Ed De Goey had the original shot covered but was helpless as the lucky deflection set Barca on their way.

This changed the game completely and saw Chelsea venture forward.

Many had predicted an attacking game from both sides but Chelsea were pinned back in defence as lead striker Gianfranco Zola was shut down by the man marking of Michael Reiziger. Ahead of him in the Barca team coach Louis van Gaal had picked four strikers strung across the peak of his formation to stretch the Chelsea defence with their interchange of positions and runs.

Rivaldo was placed in a central and much closer to Patrick Kluivert and it was too much for Chelsea's initial caution.

Kluivert struck the post with a shot in the dying seconds of the half and the ball ran again for Barca as Luis Figo curled in a finish to put Barca on the verge of the semi finals.

Tore Andre Flo fluffed Chelsea's best chance of the half when home goalkeeper Ruud Hesp allowed a 40th minute corner to reach the Norwegian striker who instinctively headed wide of an open target.

The home side poured on pressure from the start of the second half. Patrick Kluivert was close to steering in a Figo cross to the near post and De Goey saved well from Rivaldo as he carried the ball to the edge of the area before sending in a 48th minute shot that was blocked.

Chelsea responded by taking attacks to a weak home defence.

Barca were coming off the back of four straight defeats and the Catalan club have never lost five games on such a run but they conceded a vital away goal in the 62nd minute when Ruud Hesp made a real mess of a kick that went straight to Flo.

Flo sent the ball back into the empty net with a curling left foot shot to trigger doubt in the home fans and bank an essential advantage for the London club with an away goal and a 4-3 aggregate lead.

Barca then took over after Dennis Wise had come close to a second for Chelsea with a low drive.

Ed De Goey conceded a corner that was arrowed across their penalty area and turned onto the underside of the crossbar by a Kluivert header and Chelsea needed to reassert their game as a thrilling climax to this struggle loomed.

Chelsea managed to get their passing game going and Barca were rocked back by the away goal. The home fans pondered the future of coach van Gaal whose entire reign seemed to be staked on the outcome of this match. Figo switched to the left side when Dani came on to be pushed out onto the right side following the substitution of Boudewijn Zenden.

Barca needed two goals to get through now or at least one more strike to force extra time but Roberto Di Matteo almost scored after great play from Zola and Jody Morris to send him clear.

Dani wasted the chance to bring on extra time when he headed wide of the net with a free chance in the 77th minute.

De Goey defied another Dani header three minutes later as Figo worked magic on the right side and the Portuguese striker remained a constant threat.

Third time lucky for Dani saw him clear in the area for an 87th minute header to at least bring on an extra 30 minutes. Seconds later Flo almost scored but then Chelsea's European dream went onto death row.

Frank Leboeuf bundled Patrick Kluivert over on a run into the penalty area and Rivaldo stepped up to take the penalty.

The Brazilian side footed the shot wide and the game entered the last three minutes and its place in European Cup history.

Chelsea could not defend crosses but Hesp needed to save a Di Matteo shot to send the game to another thirty minutes.

The visitors almost then blew any chance of victory when substitute Bernard Lambourde carried the ball toward his own goal and lost possession to Dani but De Goey turned away his driven shot.

Figo then caused a total Chelsea collapse. A swift run caused Babayaro to foul the Barca man and Rivaldo converted the spot kick inside the post with a firm and low shot. Chelsea's Nigerian was red carded for his foul.

Chelsea switched to three defenders at the back and had to score to stay in the match but with a man less it was an impossible task. Kluivert buried a header into the roof of the net when Dani clipped in a cross from the right in the 13th minute of extra time.

The rest of the game was devoted to Chelsea's suffering. Gabri wasted a great run and Wise forced a good save from Ruud Hesp but there was time to consider Barca's record in Europe this season. At home in 14 Champions League games they have scored 44 goals and hit 27 goals in seven matches at the Camp Nou in this competition.

Chelsea's last stand saw Leboeuf test Hesp with a sharp drive. They are an ageing side as coach Vialli admits and have no chance of qualifying for next season's competition. A lot of hard work took them to a 3-1 lead coming into this game but their season was put on the fire in Catalonia. Chelsea could now see their squad dismantled in the wake of this defeat as they seem no nearer to winning the Premiership.