Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi finally opened his account against Chelsea with a 75th-minute equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw in a fascinating Champions League last 16, first leg duel at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Willian’s superb 62nd-minute effort looked like giving Chelsea a precious advantage for the second leg in Spain but it undid all their good work by handing Messi the chance.
The Argentine maestro, teed up by Andres Iniesta after some sloppy play by the host, struck a low shot past keeper Thibaut Courtois for his first goal in nine attempts against Chelsea.
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As expected, Barca dominated possession but Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side was unfortunate not to end with a victory after Willian was twice denied by the woodwork before half-time.
In the 34th minute, Paulinho gave the ball away cheaply and as Chelsea worked the ball to Willian, he shuffled to his right and sent a curling right-footer thudding against the post.
Willian could not believe his bad luck again when Barca again invited pressure and this time his left-foot effort smacked the outside of the other post.
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Conte was celebrating wildly in the 62nd minute as Willian’s persistence finally paid off. Eden Hazard teased the Barca defence and played a pass infield to workaholic Willian who engineered a yard of space before firing a low right-foot shot inside the left-hand post.
Menwhile at Munich, Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 win over Besiktas after the Turkish champion played nearly the whole match with 10 men.
Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida was given a straight red card for tripping Lewandowski outside the penalty area in the 16th minute, the defining moment in the first leg tie.
Mueller, inelegant yet always effective, broke the deadlock with a mis-kick two minutes before half-time to break Besiktas’s resistance.
Kingsley Coman and Mueller added two more before Lewandowski helped himself to a late brace, virtually assuring the Bavarians of a seventh successive quarterfinal appearance.
The results (last 16, first leg): At London: Chelsea 1 (Willian 62) drew with Barcelona 1 (Messi 75); At Munich: Bayern Munich 5 (Mueller 43, 66, Coman 52, Lewandowski 79, 88) bt Besiktas 0 .