Barcelona dominated in the first half but found it difficult getting close to Chelsea's goal. The best chance came early on when Rafael Marquez failed to convert a cross from the right wing at the far post.

The home side suffered a severe blow seven minutes after the lemon break, when Rafael Marquez the most mobile of the lot injured his knee when running with the ball. The Mexican was replaced with Carlos Puyol. Daniel Alves also appeared to have injured himself badly a few minutes later but the right-back quickly recovered and continued for the rest of the match.

Knowing that a goalless draw would not be a particularly good result for the home side, Barcelona began to apply more pressure in the closing minutes of the second half. The Spanish side had a great chance to break the deadlock on 70th minute when Samuel Eto'o had only the keeper left to beat, but Petr Cech, the Chelsea keeper remained focused and blocked the effort.

Chelsea lacked initiative as the Londoners only seemed to want to defend, waiting for the second leg to finish the job. Guus Hiddink's men rarely got close to Barcelona's goal and Victor Valdes had little to do throughout most of the match.

Bojan Krkic had a big chance to score a late winner in added time but the youngster headed over the crossbar from a Daniel Alves cross.. Lionel Messi looked very ordinary right throughout.

The referee had to flash yellow cards at two players from each side (Toure’ Yaya, Carlos Puyol from Barca and Alex and Ballack of Chelsea.

The return leg will be played in London on Wednesday, May 6th and Barca will have amountain to climb at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea FC : P. Chec, J. Terry, Alex, J. Bosingwa, B. Ivanovic, M. Ballack (N. Anoulka (90’), F. Lampard (J. Belleti (71’), F. Malouda, M. Essien, J. Obe Mikel, D. Drogba

Each team had 18 players who each played around 18 hours, staying at the Bristol pitch during their breaks. (enlarge photo)

Simon Lynes, organiser of the Longest soccer game, said:" This was an absolutely incredible effort from all the lads. We were exhaused and there were some though times in the early hours of the morning but once we got past the 24 hours mark we knew we were going to make it. I'm so proud of each and every one of the players who put in an unbelievable effort both before and during the Longest soccer game."

The previous world record for the longest soccer game was set by Joeys Soccer Club with a 32 hours long game.

The Longest soccer game kicked off at 10am on April 11th, finishing 36 gruelling hours later at 10pm on April 12th at Filton College in Bristol. Players went without sleep, battled on in sub-zero temperatures and each ran an average of 70 kilometres over the duration of the match.

The Leeds Badgers eventually triumphed over the team from bristol by 285 goals to 255, with striker Adam McPhee taking the golden boot after notching an incredible 75 goals.

The two teams set out to raise money in memory of Jamie Burdett, who played for the Badgers and passed away from Maningitis two years ago. The money raised is being donated to the Meningitis Trust and Kids Adventure and you can donate using the links on this website.

Former Liverpool FC star and Welsh international Ian Rush, who had meningitis as a child, said: "These players are amazing."

Courtesy: www.worldrecordsacademy.org

Barcelona possess enough skill, speed and dexterity to make them the most entertaining side in the world. Their forward line has this rare ability of scoring goals at will. Chelsea on the other hand seems to be custom made to break down this Barcelona team. This Chelsea side possesses strength, endurance and aerial ability i.e. they have all the qualities that this Barca side don’t. This matchup can also be termed as the battle between England’s best defence and Spain’s best attack.

Barcelona go into this game knowing that this is probably their first real test in this year’s competition having brushed aside Lyon and Bayern Munich with ease in earlier rounds. Pep Guardiola, knowing that his forward line is probably the best in the world would want his men to guard against complacency and overconfidence especially against a Chelsea side which has looked hungrier than ever. With a nearly full strength squad at his disposal, Guardiola would be looking for a comprehensive victory at Camp Nou. With 8 goals in the tournament already, Lionel Messi will be arguably the Barca’s most key man, also given the fact that Chelsea would also be missing a proper left back. However the only drawback for this great side would be the fact that they will have to keep one eye on next weekend El Clasico tie against arch rivals Real Madrid.

Chelsea go into this game knowing that their league ambitions are all but over, and that the Champions League along with the FA Cup remain their best bet for a trophy this season. This rejuvenated Chelsea side goes into this game as the underdogs, a tag that has done wonders for them in the preceding couple of ties. However Hiddink will not have a full strength side at his disposal unlike Guardiola. Portuguese internationals Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Ricardo Quaresma will be unavailable for the game with the former being injured and the two other two ex-Barca players being denied an opportunity to return the Nou Camp with Deco being injured and Quaresma being cup-tied. However, Hiddink’s biggest concern would be the absence of left back Ashley Cole due to suspension. Chelsea’s main man will be the Ivorian Didier Drogba who has amazingly scored in five consecutive Champions League games and had also single handedly bullied the Juve and Liverpool defences.

Chelsea and Barca have squared off against each other 8 times in the past 10 years with victories being 3 a piece to each team. Another eye catching feature of Chelsea-Barca games have been the amount of goals scored with 29 goals being scored in 8 games. Chelsea and Barcelona will also be remembered for being involved in the most controversial and unforgettable two legs in 2004-2005 when the then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho sparked off a monstrous controversy. The bad blood from that time exists till date and one can surely expect some feisty, no holds barred, all out action on the football pitch. All in all, these two teams share a rivalry that even words fall short of describing.

Probable Barcelona Team : Victor Valdes ,Dani Alves, Puyol , Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Messi, Eto’o, Henry

Rao, who has a fortuned estimated at over £4bn and owns Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team Delhi Daredevils, is understood to be a Liverpool fan and is reportedly keen to invest in other sports, particularly English football.

The News of the World report that Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks opened negotiations with Rao initially with a view to arranging a sponsorship deal, but the Indian businessman who made his fortune in the airport and construction industries is thought to be considering a major investment in the club which could lead to an eventual takeover.

A source told the News of the World: "The GMR group were invited by Hicks and their representative watched the Arsenal match in the directors' box with Hicks' son Tommy. It was quite clear the representative was a fan".

Hicks and his co-owner George Gillett could be forced to sell Liverpool in July unless they can refinance £350m of loans the duo took out in order to takeover the club.

The two US sports investors have endured a fractious relationship since joining forces at Liverpool, arguing over the governance and direction of the club, but recently have presented a united front as they strive to attract new finance.

Both Hicks and Gillett were present at Anfield for the Arsenal match and met with Rao's representative.

Liverpool are also understood to have held talks with a Kuwaiti investment group, led by Naffer Al Kharafi.

Liverpool went top of the Premier League on Saturday after beating Hull City 3-1, but their lead over title rivals Manchester United was short-lived as the Red Devils reclaimed the lead a few hours later with a stunning 5-2 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Courtesy:www.soccernet.espn.go.com