Chelsea v Barcelona: Sluggers dig deep to give Chelsea a fighting chance of final redemption But the goal revived him. Suddenly he was on a mission, re-doubling his efforts and chasing down the defenders. He became embroiled in a running battle with Carles Puyol and that was when he showed his second face - tussling with the Barcelona captain and then holding his groin as if he had been stamped on. He hadn't and Puyol was furious. But his anger was born of frustration. Jose Mourinho once accused Spurs of coming to Stamford Bridge to "park the bus." Here Chelsea didn't so much park it, they let down the tyres and siphoned off the fuel. They defended deeper and deeper, packing the central area in front of their own penalty area and challenging Barcelona to try to break them down. It was testimony to Barcelona's astonishing ability that they carved out at least six clear chances, had 25 shots and gained more than 70 per cent of the possession. And yet they did not score and the longer it went on the more the negative tactics devised by interim coach Roberto Di Matteo were vindicated. But, even so, and after all the vast investment of Roman Abramovich is this really the way to play at this level? Maybe that sounds churlish but it is a legitimate question. If Chelsea had conceded early, they would have been overwhelmed. Other goals would have followed; the tie would have been dead before the return leg next Tuesday in Catalonia. They would have hit the canvas and not risen again. So Di Matteo packed his team with height and power and experience and rolled out the famed old guard. The difference was glaringly obvious as the teams strode out from the tunnel. Chelsea's side, largely, towered over their opponents. Last out was Drogba who took to the pitch with a boxer's swagger having seen off the challenge of Fernando Torres to claim the starting place as Chelsea's striker and whatever formation was laid down on the team-sheet, it quickly morphed into a 4-5-1 or even a 9-1, at times. Chelsea ceded to the half-way line, trying to reduce the space available for Barcelona to weave their intricate patterns. It was no surprise that Chelsea's two most impressive performers were both defenders - Ashley Cole and, in particular, Gary Cahill. But Chelsea needed that goal and when it arrived it came back to haunt Cesc Fabregas. He had spoken about his previous contests against Chelsea, of how Arsenal had dominated possession, had created chances - and were then suckered on to the counter-attack with Drogba, usually, the scorer. It happened again. The slugger got his chance and took it but even the most diehard of Chelsea fan would have accepted it was a scoreline of outrageous fortune. But they would also point out that fortune has so often deserted them in this competition, in the semi-final defeats, and that lost final in Moscow, and not least against last night's opponents. The wounds of 2009 remain raw but it was Barcelona left smarting.