Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho blamed Barcelona striker Lionel Messi's overreaction for their 2-1 defeat in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Chelsea lost defender Asier del Horno in the 37th minute after going into a rough tackle with Messi, who “overreacted”, according to Mourinho. "How do you say cheating in Catalan?" Mourinho was quoted as saying by BBC Sport on Wednesday. "Can Messi be suspended for acting? Barcelona is a cultural city with many great theatres and this boy has learned very well. He's learned play-acting," he added. Nevertheless, Chelsea went on to grab the lead through a Thiago Motta own goal before John Terry scored an own-goal, putting Barcelona at level. Samuel Eto'o sealed the game for the Spanish side with an amazing header in the 81st minute.
Barcelona striker Lional Messi "I'm so proud of my players for fighting the way they did. I would sooner they lose like this than the defeat we suffered at Middlesbrough two weeks ago. "It is bad enough to play with 10 men against 11 when it happens against a small side and there are not many minutes left, but against a team like Barcelona and for almost an hour it is asking too much. Now I must decide how to approach the second leg," Mourinho said. On the other hand, Messi laughed off the accusations of overreacting and said that Mourinho's statements were part of his usual scheme to stir up controversy. "I don't do theatre. I don't attach any importance to that because we know what he's like, that he likes talking, he likes to say things and heat up the atmosphere," Messi said. Asked about the incident, the 18-year-old said: "I got past Arjen Robben and Del Horno charged at me with bad intent. Luckily I see him coming and I jump because if not he would have hurt me much more." Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard backed Messi's explanation of the incident and said that the young player doesn't have a record for exaggerating, despite being fouled all the time. "I see fouls on Messi all the time and he's not a player to overreact," Rijkaard said.
