Chelsea put in a confident performance against Barcelona, but a late goal from Lionel Messi technically gave the Catalans an advantage in the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

It can be argued that Antonio Conte's side were the better of the two in the first period despite Messi having the first chance of the clash early on, Willian came the closest however as he clattered the post on two separate occasions towards the end but it was to no avail.

It proved to be third time lucky for the Brazilian as he opened the scoring just after the hour mark, but Messi's magic gave in the 75th minute saved Barca close to the end.

Beginning to build up some pace

The masses ascended on the Bridge looking forward to seeing some of the best to kick a ball, Barcelona were certainly the favourites going into the clash especially considering Chelsea's recent form but the Blues started well despite Barca having the first real opportunity.

It was patient play from the visitors but burst into life as Andrés Iniesta threaded it into Messi, the Argentine threaded it into Paulinho who decided to go for the header instead of the extra touch but it was just wide.

Going close, and going close again

That seemed to kick Chelsea into gear and they began to put their mark on the clash, but were denied a two-goal lead in quick succession by the woodwork.

Willian did well to cut in from the left hand side in the 34th minute which left Sergio Busquets in his dust, his effort from 20 yards had Marc-André ter Stegen rooted to the spot but the German was saved by the upright.

The Brazilian was under a bit more pressure when he took his second effort, but his snap-shot once again had ter Stegen rooted but he was once again saved by the post.

Third time lucky

Chelsea continued to push their assertiveness on their Catalan counterparts as the second-half got underway, and it proved to be third time lucky for Willian as he gave Chelsea somewhat deserved lead.

He showed great trickery as he shimmied on the edge of the area, he did even better to bend it around two or three players and into the bottom corner with ter Stegen once again having no chance.

That man again

Chelsea's had been pretty much forward as the clock began to tick further and further down, but their one mistake on the night proved to be costly as Barca jumped at the chance to equalise.

Andreas Christensen's poor pass on the edge of the area was straight into the feet of Iniesta who did well to get beyond the challenge, the Spaniard pulled it back to Messi who made no mistake as he finished first time into the bottom corner.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.