Chelsea go quietly in the end

SOCCER Uefa Champions League, second leg/Barcelona 1 Chelsea 1 Agg: 3-2: It was a quiet death. Chelsea's Champions League campaign passed away in relative tranquillity. The 3-2 aggregate loss leaves no scope for appeal.

How the visitors would have preferred it if events had followed a more familiar course, with a contentious win and a possible Uefa inquiry to follow. It was never like that, because Barcelona were too good to allow such an episode to occur.

Victory on the night was almost theirs. With 12 minutes to go, the substitute Henrik Larsson and Samuel Eto'o linked before Ronaldinho got away from a slipping John Terry to fire home. An equaliser did come in stoppage time when Frank Lampard converted a penalty after Giovanni van Bronckhorst had brought down Terry.

Chelsea had lacked the creativity that was essential to rescue the tie after the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. There are days when it is pragmatic to be daring, and Chelsea realised this was one of them. The side assumed a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Joe Cole and Damien Duff on the flanks while Arjen Robben worked behind Didier Drogba.

Already holding the advantage, there was no cause for Barcelona to gamble too much in attack. Frank Rijkaard's side hogged possession and there was a quota of tricks from Ronaldinho, but no desire for searing manoeuvres was shown. It may also have given Barcelona pause for thought that the teenager Lionel Messi had to be replaced by Henrik Larsson after seeming to be caught accidentally by Robben on the Achilles area.

The home support had nothing much to inflame them. Those few who had been present 40 minutes before kick-off had been the most indignant, howling when Jose Mourinho emerged from the tunnel. If anything displeased him during the first-half, it must have been the limited relevance of his tactical ploy. Barcelona enjoyed so much of the ball that the Chelsea players often had to funnel back as best they could. With wingers in action, Frank Lampard also had to curb some of his adventurous instincts so he could help Claude Makelele to cover.

The signs of encouragement were faint for Chelsea prior to the interval. After 38 minutes, Robben did demonstrate what Mourinho had in mind when he cut in from the right, but goalkeeper Victor Valdes held the shot. Two minutes from the interval Paulo Ferreira delivered a free-kick that John Terry headed down, but the finish was a taxing one and Cole's flick took the ball over both Valdes and the crossbar.

For the most part, Barcelona exuded a quiet satisfaction with their efforts. Petr Cech had been busier than his opposite number, and when he punched away a cross in the 39th minute, under pressure from Eto'o, Ricardo Carvalho had to react well to block Thiago Motta's attempt.

The onus was on Chelsea and Mourinho to make Barcelona uneasy. At that stage, though, their outstanding figures had been Carvalho and his fellow centre-half Terry. The visitors were struggling to alter the character of a game in which Duff seldom found any opportunity to show his skills.

Chelsea did need to establish some momentum if any doubts were to be planted in the minds of Rijkaard's players. Something had to change, and the alteration took the form of the introduction of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Hernan Crespo for, respectively, Duff and Drogba. But the immediate reaction was from Barcelona, who drew a good save from Cech when Eto'o turned for a drive inside the area.

Crespo did hint at his worth in the 63rd minute, getting to Cole's cross at the near post, although he could only jab the ball behind with his first touch. As time passed it became incumbent on the side to offer the Argentina striker even more assistance. The nature of the fixture had hardly altered at all and Chelsea, with nothing to lose, had to try some recklessness.

There were scant signs of apprehension in the Barcelona line-up and the Nou Camp sounded, even with 20 minutes remaining, as if it was tuning up for celebration.

BARCELONA: Valdes, Oleguer, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst, Deco, Edmilson, Motta, Messi (Larsson 25), Ronaldinho, Eto'o. Subs not used: Jorquera, Belletti, Giuly, Sylvinho, Van Bommel, Iniesta. Booked: Motta, Puyol.

CHELSEA: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Joe Cole (Huth 83), Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Gudjohnsen 58), Robben, Drogba (Crespo 58). Subs not used: Cudicini, Maniche, Geremi, Wright-Phillips. Booked: Joe Cole.

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany).