Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by a battling Chelsea side in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp on Tuesday. Barca dominated possession, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta pulling the strings in midfield, but found it hard to break through the massed Chelsea defences until near the end when they squandered several chances to snatch a winner.
It was the first match is which the Primera Liga leaders had failed to score at home in any competition this season as Chelsea kept a tight rein on dangerman Lionel Messi. Thierry Henry had Barca's two best openings of the first half. The French international stung Petr Cech's hands with a low drive after 34 minutes and then got the ball tangled in his feet after he had rounded the Chelsea goalkeeper.
The visitors almost took the lead against the run of play when a miscued back pass by Marquez let in Didier Drogba, but a fine double save by Victor Valdes denied the Ivory Coast striker.
BOJAN MISS
Michael Ballack headed Drogba's free kick over the bar just after the break and Samuel Eto'o raced clear midway through the second period only for Petr Cech to save with his legs with Henry unmarked to the striker's left. Barca poured forward in search of a goal. Substitute Bojan Krkic headed a stoppage-time chance over the bar from close range and Cech produced another good save to thwart Aleksandr Hleb who had come on in place of Henry.