Full-time: Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona The referee blows the final whistle! It's 1-1. 90+1 Gomes comes in for Iniesta 90' Busquets goes into the referee's book for a foul on Hazard 86' Morata booked by the ref.. 84' Drinkwater replaces Cesc for Conte. 82' Pedro makes way for Alonso for Chelsea's first sub of the game. 80' Rudiger yellow-carded following a fierce foul on Sergio Roberto. 77' Suarez booked by the ref for dissent. 75' A defensive blunder by Chelsea ends up with Messi popping up inside the area to draw his side level!! 75' GOOOAAAALL!!!! Messi brings Barca level!!! 70' A promising counter by Chelsea eventually scuffed out by the Barca defense. 64' Alex Vidal replaces Paulinho for Barca's first sub of the game. 62' A low strike from Willian from outside the box beats the keeper, as Chelsea finally take the lead!! 62' GOOOOAAAALLL!!!! CHELSEA SCORE!!!! 59 Barca continue to control, but yet to pose genuine threat as they won a corner now 53' Total dominance from the Catalans.. 49' Iniesta slices a strike wide... The second half begins! 45' The ref blows the half-time whistle. 42' Hazard hits a volley that goes narrow over the bar!! 40' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Willian thwarted again by the post!! 38' Pique heads a Barca corner from the left wide of the post 33' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Willian's superb curler from outside the area denied by the woodwork!!! 31' Alonso' free-kick gathered by keeper Ter Stegen 30' Rakitic forced to commit a professional foul on the surging Willian during a Chelsea counter, only to be normally booked by the ref! 24' Barca continue to dominate, but yet to pose real threat on goal 18' Chelsea keeping Barca at bay with their extremely organized shape. 16' A great cross by Messi towards Paulinho was headed wide by the Brazilian! 12' A spell of pressure by the visitors, with Conte happy to sit deep and play on the break 9' Ruediger heads a corner kick, the first of the game, wide! 6' Alba forced to foul the pacey Willian who continuously causes problems on the break! 5' Hazard unleashes a superb left-footed strike from outside the area but goes wide!! 4' A quick counter by Willian, but the Brailian was eventually halted by Busquets 2' Cagey start from hosts Chelsea The match gets underway! 21:41 Both teams are in the tunnel now 21:20 Valverde, meanwhile, looks set to continue with his 4-4-2 formation - with Suarez and Messi leading the team's attack. 21:10 It remains to be seen what exact format Conte will be using tonight, whether a 3-5-2 with Willian in midfield or a 3-4-3 with the Brazilian joining the team's attack. 20:55 Chelsea manager Conte has decided to start without a recognized no.9, with Morata and Giroud both on the bench. Starting lineups: Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Ruediger, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso, Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Willian, Pedro, Hazard Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Sergio Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Rakitic, Paulinho, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez 20:15 "English teams this year are in incredible form, much better than in previous years. Chelsea might be the same. We know that, because the English have such a strong league, they'll all be up there competing," Valverde said. 19:45 Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde, on the other hand, has said he wanted to avoid meeting Chelsea in the first knockout stage of this season's Champions League and wished the London side had won their group. "The Premier League teams are having a great Champions League and we can't forget we are playing against the current English league champions," Valverde told a news conference. 19:15 "For this reason, we must be prepared to suffer without the ball, to be compact, to not lose our head during the game, and then to try with the ball what we know, and what we try doing in training," Conte said. 18:15 "We know the characteristics of Barcelona very well. They like to have possession of the ball; they like to dominate. In every game they are able to create many chances," Conte added. 17:45 The Italian warned that his players must be prepared to suffer to get past a Barcelona side who are runaway leaders in La Liga and are also through to the Spanish Cup final. 16:15 "We have to play against a fantastic team, one of the best in the world," he added. "We must be excited to play this type of game. It won't be easy. We must pay great attention, but at the same time we must have ambition to try to play our football. 15:45 "We are talking about a massive game, and a big challenge for us," said Conte who delivered the Premier League title last term but whose fourth-placed side have struggled to reach such high standards during his second season in charge. 15:00 Chelsea last defeated the Catalan side in 2012 on the way to their only Champions League title but Conte admits they are the underdogs going into Tuesday's mouthwatering match. 14:15 "We have an idea; we have a plan in our heads. In this specific moment for us it's very important to pick the players that are in the best form, and then try to do our best during the game, "he told a news conference on Monday. 14:00 "After the FA Cup game, it was a bit difficult to sleep well, because when you have to play this type of game, you have to prepare everything: the big things, and the details," said Conte, who has been under mounting pressure this season. 13:00 The Premier League champions have recovered from a poor run of form, winning consecutive matches over West Bromwich Albion in the league and Hull City in the FA Cup, but Conte is not getting carried away. 12:00 Chelsea must play the "perfect game" to beat a formidable Barcelona in Tuesday's first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie, the manager of the Premier League club Antonio Conte has said.
Stay tuned as match is due to start at 21:45 Cairo time (GMT+2)
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London) Referee: Cüneyt Çakιr (Turkey) (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
