Barca sing the Blues: Messi misery as Chelsea stage coup at Camp Nou

• Torres puts level best for Londoners as Di Matteo’s charges survive Terry red card to enter Munich final

Barcelona

Lionel Messi missed a penalty as holders Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Champions League semi-finals after 10-man Chelsea battled to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Chelsea, leading 1-0 from the first leg, snatched a 3-2 aggregate win on a night of extraordinary drama which saw the Premier League side recover from 2-0 down and the dismissal of captain John Terry to reach next month’s Munich final.

Barcelona looked to be cruising to victory after goals from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta put them 2-0 up in the first half either side of Terry’s red card for a foul on Alexis Sanchez.

But a superb counter-attack and chip from Ramires put Chelsea ahead on away goals, and in the dying seconds substitute Fernando Torres completed an unlikely fightback to kill off an unforgettable contest.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo hailed his side’s “incredible achievement” in reaching the final, where his side will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

Monopoly of possession

“A lot of people had written us off and we showed again what kind of character these players have,” Di Matteo said.

“We didn’t expect to play with 10 men and we knew it was going to be tough. It was even more difficult than we expected.

“They’re a great team, with some fantastic players. We just showed what we’re made of.” Disappointed Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola attempted to strike a philosophical note after a traumatic exit.

“The first thing I feel is huge sadness,” Guardiola said. “I think we played exceptionally well. We have done everything we possibly could to reach the final. Finals are great but we’ll have to watch this one on TV.

“We have played well recently but it wasn’t enough. Sometimes football is like this. This year it was not our turn. This year it seems like we could couldn’t win.”

An extraordinary first half had seen Chelsea manage to frustrate Barcelona in the face of remorseless pressure despite the setback of losing Gary Cahill to injury after only 12 minutes. Cahill was replaced by Jose Bosingwa, with Branislav Ivanovic moving to centre-back.

Despite the defensive reshuffle Chelsea’s thin blue line held firm, with Petr Cech saving brilliantly with his leg from Messi on 19 minutes before Terry slid in desperately to block Iniesta’s follow-up.

At the other end Chelsea were limited to pumping long clearances for Didier Drogba, who, just as he had done at Stamford Bridge a week earlier, was forced to plough a lonely furrow up front.

It was only to be a matter of time before Barcelona’s monopoly of possession yielded its reward and the breakthrough came on 35 minutes, the start of a catastrophic period for Chelsea. (AFP)