Drogba Late Show Stuns Barca  (Sky Sports)

Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2

Didier Drogba's late, late equaliser gave Chelsea a point at Camp Nou in a sometimes brutal and always dramatic 2-2 draw with Barcelona that leaves the Londoners on the brink of qualification.

Eidur Gudjohnsen had seemingly returned to haunt The Blues on Halloween as his second-half strike gave Barca a vital lead in the UEFA Champions League clash of the titans.

Having been sold by Chelsea in the summer, then publicly decried as a diver by his former mentor Jose Mourinho in the build-up to the clash, the Icelandic international looked to have earned three points for Frank Rijkaard's men with his close-range finish, but the striker was denied the fairytale ending when Drogba chested the ball past Rafael Marquez on 93 minutes and slipped his shot under Victor Valdes.

The latest instalment in the growing rivalry between the English and Spanish champions provided no end of controversy and entertainment, as expected, with Deco's superb strike setting the tone after just three minutes.

Frank Lampard's equaliser was equally as breath-taking in its execution, and the ridiculous was added to the sublime when controversy erupted over whether Ashley Cole had been shown two yellow cards inside the first half.

The England international was saved when referee Stefano Farina revealed the first booking had been awarded to Lampard, and with a full complement of players The Blues stunned Barca with a late equaliser that leaves the reigning champions' passage to the knockout stages in the balance.

Chelsea would have set out to keep the Catalans quiet in the opening stages, but Deco's thundering finish after just three minutes sent Camp Nou into raptures.

The Portuguese schemer was allowed to drift infield from the left wing and after shifting the ball to his right boot the midfielder unleashed a venomous shot that flew through the legs of Ricardo Carvalho and past Hilario in the Blues goal.

Just six minutes later, and after Drogba had dragged a shot well wide, Barca could, and should, have doubled their lead after Lionel Messi broke free down the right-hand side following a one-two with Gianluca Zambrotta. The Argentine wonderkid cut back for Ronaldinho but the World Player of the Year was unable to keep his shot down as he fired over with the goal at his mercy.

Predictably, given Mourinho's pre-match comments about Gudjohnsen's new-found dramatic ability, every fall was met with consternation on both sides, and after Drogba collapsed to ground twice the temperature at Camp Nou visibly rose.

Whilst his second was seemingly caused by a sneaky kick from Messi the Ivorian was still whistled by the attending Catalans, and Drogba was again the centre of attention when he was pushed to the ground by Rafael Marquez, with the incident sparking mass confrontations both on the pitch and off.

The Mexican escaped any punishment on what was rapidly becoming a testing night for referee Farina, and as the obvious animosity between the two sides began to rear its ugly head it was down to Michael Ballack to bring the focus back to football as his first-time effort from Drogba's pass whistled just over the bar.

Barca looked keen to try and prove they occupied the aesthetic high ground with some trademark showboating, and a flowing move cut Chelsea to pieces when only a fine save from Hilario denied Xavi after a one-two with Ronaldinho.

However, The Blues were capable of matching the Liga champions at their own game and a fine flowing move from the Londoners saw Drogba scoop a cross into the box and Michael Essien, steaming forward, saw his powerful header tipped over the bar by Valdes.

The Barca shot stopper outdid himself from the resultant corner as the ball fell loose to Arjen Robben, with the Dutchman's rasping effort tipped around the post, and even Claude Makelele was getting in on the act as a rare forward foray from the French midfielder almost yielded a penalty when he fell under contact from Marquez.

After a brief flurry of action the game soon reverted to a succession of fouls and flashpoints, and referee Farina began to deal out more cards than a croupier.

The biggest controversy came when Cole seemingly received his second booking after 37 minutes, as Farina looked to have made a Graham Poll-esque gaffe by failing to send off the left back, and Barca's players vociferously registered their protests as another pushing match ensued.

However the official then clarified that Lampard had been the recipient of the earlier booking, rendering him suspended for the trip to Werder Bremen, and Robben, Messi and Thiago Motta all joined him in the book as a predictably feisty first half drew to a close.

The break allowed Chelsea to reflect on the fact that they were a goal down in the Group A fixture, and The Blues started the second period in positive fashion when Robben called Valdes into action again after beating Gudjohnsen to an Essien cross and heading at goal.

The young Dutch flyer then wasted a golden opportunity to claim an equaliser on 51 minutes after Lampard's superb ball across the box, but Valdes' charge out of goal put the winger off and he lifted the ball over the bar from no more than seven yards.

It was a shocking miss, but inside 60 seconds Lampard had produced a sensational strike as Chelsea got the goal their early second half efforts deserved.

The England star had seemed to have let the ball get away from him inside the Barca box as he tried to pull down a cross, but, stuck on the byline and with options seemingly limited, Lampard swivelled and chipped Valdes from an outrageous angle.

Chelsea's new-found confidence was exemplified when Makelele's 25-yard drive flew just wide, but Barca took the wind out of their sails with a superbly worked second goal.

Ronaldinho was the architect as he drew Khalid Boulahrouz in before flicking the ball past the defender on the left wing, but it was Gudjohnsen, returning to haunt his former employers, who steered home a close-range shot from the Brazilian's glorious cross to make Mourinho eat his words.

Looking to summon the spirit to respond to Rijkaard's side once again, The Blues had a penalty appeal turned down when Lampard fell to the ground in a tangle with Xavi as he tried to get on the end of Drogba's flicked through-ball.

As Barca continued to pressure Essien was required to produce an acrobatic clearance following a Ronaldinho free kick, and as Marquez stumbled over the Chelsea man his boot connected with the nether regions of his opponent as the Mexican continued to tread a fine line.

Both substitute Edmilson and Gudjohnsen found themselves on the receiving end of a booking, and with quarter of an hour to go Mourinho rung the changes by introducing Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole for Robben and Boulahrouz.

The Catalans were also forced into a change when Gudjohnsen jarred his knee in a nasty looking incident, with Ludovic Giuly taking his place, and the influential Deco looked to seal the three points when he dragged a shot wide of the post.

With five minutes to go Michael Ballack mirrored Ronaldinho's miss from the first half when he blasted Kalou's cut-back over the bar in agonising fashion, and with time ticking by there was still time for Essien, Cole and Terry to be cautioned - with the captain going in the book for kicking the ball at the grounded Deco.

The diminutive Portuguese magician was also on the receiving end of an outstretched leg from Carvalho as the game retained its nasty edge right up until the final whistle, but it was Drogba who had the last word in a thrilling finale.

Essien lofted a hopeful ball into the box and after Terry popped out of nowhere to head down, Drogba took the ball past Marquez using his chest, and slipped the ball under the helpless Valdes to earn The Blues a point and set the seal on a dramatic night.

Barcelona	Team Statistics	Chelsea
2	Goals	2
1	1st Half Goals	0
3	Shots on Target	5
3	Shots off Target	5
4	Blocked Shots	1
3	Corners	4
15	Fouls	31
2	Offsides	1
4	Yellow Cards	6
0	Red Cards	0
78.5	Passing Success	69.9
26	Tackles	27
57.7	Tackles Success	66.7
61	Possession	39
49.2	Territorial Advantage	50.8

Teams

Barcelona Valdes, Marquez, Puyol, van Bronckhorst, Zambrotta, Deco, Motta (Edmilson 57), Xavi (Iniesta 84), Ronaldinho, Gudjohnsen (Giuly 77), Messi
Subs Not Used Belletti, Jorquera, Saviola, Thuram
Booked  Messi, Motta, Gudjohnsen, Edmilson
Goals  Deco 3, Gudjohnsen 58

Chelsea  Hilario, Boulahrouz (J. Cole 75), A. Cole, Carvalho, Terry, Ballack (Ferreira 90), Essien, Lampard, Makelele, Robben (Kalou 73), Drogba
Subs Not Used  Cudicini, Bridge, Geremi, Wright-Phillips
Booked  Lampard, Robben, A. Cole, J. Cole, Terry, Essien
Goals  Lampard 52, Drogba 90

Attendance  98,000

Referee  Stefano Farina (Italy)