With Chelsea down to 10 men and trailing 2-1 on the night, Messi was handed a golden opportunity to end his seven-match scoring drought against the Blues after Cesc Fabregas was brought down by Didier Drogba. But the FIFA World Player of the Year was left stunned as his shot crashed backoff the crossbar.

Messi distraught after losing to Chelsea in the semi-finals. Pic/AFP