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Late Drogba strike denies Barca
01/11/2006 08:00 - (SA)
Barcelona - Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho saluted his side's mental strength after Didier Drogba on Tuesday rescued a 2-2 draw away to holders Barcelona with a last-gap equaliser to leave his side on the verge of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League.
"The performance was brilliant. Tactically, we were always in control against a very difficult team," said Mourinho after his men made it four points from two games against Barca and 10 points from four Group A encounters, leaving Barca trailing five adrift.
"This group is the most difficult group in the Champions League," insisted Mourinho, who praised Drogba's neat finish deep into injury time after Eidur Gudjohnsen looked to have given Barca victory with a 56th-minute goal against his former club.
"His contribution was magnificent. When he had the big chance he put the ball in the net," said Mourinho of the Ivorian international striker who is now competition top scorer with five goals.
"The team did collectively very well - we were mentally very strong," added Mourinho, who made light of his side's six bookings, including one for midfield dynamo Frank Lampard, who will now miss the trip to Werder Bremen.
The Germans have yet to play in the Nou Camp but have a two-point advantage with two games left.
Barcelona starlet Lionel Messi, who aside from a couple of lightning runs made little headway against a Chelsea defence which teammate Rafa Marquez had earlier described as "tough as brick," admitted the Catalan club were staring elimination in the face.
Barca coach Frank Rijkaard looked like a man who had suffered a Halloween trick after a result which leaves his side's hopes of advancing hanging in the balance.
"We generally played very well, we were very close to winning," Rijkaard insisted.
Mourinho said he would not get carried away with a result which showed Chelsea need fear nobody.
"Six or seven teams can win the competition," said the man who has already performed the feat as a coach, with unfancied Porto in 2004.
One of his former Porto charges, Deco, scored the opener in the third minute with a sweetly-struck drive.
Robben almost drew Chelsea level twice within a minute just after the restart, Valdes hurling himself to his left to keep out a goalbound header before the Dutch flier clipped over from close range with Lampard having set him up a chance on a plate.
But on 52 minutes, Lampard, just onside, escaped his marker inside the box to fire the equaliser, clipping home from the acutest of angles after appearing to have allowed Mikael Essien's lofted pass to stray too far.
His suspension will not unduly worry the English Premiership champions after a result which essentially left them cruising towards the next phase, Drogba having kept his nerve to cancel out Gudjohnsen's poached effort from Ronaldinho's brilliant dink into his path.
Mourinho on Monday suggested Gudjohnsen appeared to have trouble staying on his feet since moving to Spain after he won a questionable weekend penalty, but Drogba's sucker punch left the Icelander and his teammates well and truly floored.
- AFP
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