Messi leads a Barcelona break and is given space to shoot from just over 20 yards, but his effort is straight at Petr Cech for a comfortable save.

Messi attacks down the right and cuts a low ball across the box; Eto'o cleverly lets it run towards the unmarked Ronaldinho arriving in the area.

From distance, Messi hits a weak shot that nonetheless stands out as the only effort to have tested a goalkeeper in the opening spell.

Del Horno gets to the ball ahead of Messi with a robust challenge, leaving Barcelona’s players and coach Rijkaard furious as no foul is given.

Del Horno crashes into Messi with a poor tackle that leaves both on the turf, sparking protests from Barcelona and ultimately leading to a red card for the Chelsea defender.

After dispossessing Robben, Messi is barged into by Del Horno whose failed clearance leads to heavy contact; the incident is judged to warrant a stunning red card for the Chelsea player.

Replays show Messi looking at the referee before remaining on the ground after the challenge, drawing criticism from Chelsea fans who feel his reaction helped get Del Horno sent off.

Barcelona keep possession comfortably while Messi is loudly jeered by Chelsea supporters for what they see as earlier simulation.

From a quickly taken corner by Deco, Messi collects on the right edge of the box and fires a shot that Cech handles well.

Messi brilliantly turns inside Ferreira in the area and seems certain to score, but instead cuts the ball back to an empty spot in the box and Chelsea escape.

Again showing superb close control in the box, Messi creates space but sees his shot excellently blocked by Ferreira after strong Chelsea defending.

Larsson finds Messi on the right, where he cuts inside and unleashes a sublime curling shot that crashes off the crossbar and back into play, agonisingly close to a second goal for Barcelona.

Finding space yet again in the box, Messi’s goal-bound shot is this time blocked at close range by Ricardo Carvalho, denying what looked another certain scoring chance.