Attendance 82,500
The Camp Nou is one of the great cathedrals of World
Football - and tonight there were Rangers fans
everywhere. An estimated 20,000 in the city, perhaps
12,000 inside the stadium.
Manager Walter Smith made two changes from Saturday
with Charlie Adam and Daniel Cousin replacing Nacho
Novo and Kris Boyd. Barca meanwhile had one change
from Ibrox with Yaya Toure coming in for Eidur
Gudjohnsen.
Rangers, wearing white, were up against a home side
restored to their traditional red and blue striped
jerseys. Sadly the Catalan club may be one of the
biggest club sides in the world, but even they are not
immune from sad individuals waving Irish tricolours.
The last thing Rangers needed was to concede an early
goal - but that is exactly what happened in five
minutes when Ronaldinho, wide on the left, crossed to
Lionel Messi at the far post. his header back across
the face of goal being scrambled home by the arm of
Thierry Henry.
Dutch Referee Eric Braamhaar was understandably
unsighted and awarded the goal - but Rangers now had a
long night ahead of them.
Three minutes later Xavi Hernandez sent in a curling
eighteen-yard shot that was held by Allan McGregor.
Rangers however were not devoid of attacking ideas - a
Brahim Hemdani / Daniel Cousin move in fourteen
minutes creating an opening for DaMarcus Beasley who
headed wide.
All the action was at the other end however - Xavi
Hernandez being inches wide with a twenty-yard shot
sixty seconds later.
Ronaldinho was at times a class apart - testing
McGregor in 26 minutes with a superb turn and
twenty-yard shot that the goalkeeper touched over,
then eight minutes later, just to prove he is human,
the Brazilian had a fresh air shot, yet the ball still
fell to Carles Puyol whose drive was parried by
McGregor.
The ´Gers keeper again kept his side in the hunt in 41
minutes when he held Henry's shot from a Puyol pass,
yet just when it looked as if Rangers might reach the
sanctuary of the dressing-room without further loss
they conceded a second goal sixty seconds later when
Messi netted after he played a one-two with
Ronaldinho, whose initial shot was blocked by McGregor
only for the Argentinian to stroke the rebound home.
There could be no question now that Rangers were right
up against it - underlined in 57 minutes when
Ronaldinho skinned David Weir from a Xavi Hernandez
pass only to be denied by McGregor yet again.
Four minutes later Ronaldinho released Henry whose
shot was again held by McGregor.
It was backs-to-the-wall stuff, and Messi should have
made it 3-0 midway through the second-half when he
sliced the ball wide after the Light Blue defence had
been split open by a Puyol - Henry move.
Ronaldinho departed to massive applause in 76 minutes,
whilst at the same time Steven Naismith made his
Champions League debut when he repleced Cousin.
Six minutes later Jean-Claude Darcheville's 22-yard
free-kick was held by Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
McGregor had been an Ibrox hero, yet he almost fumbled
Bojan Krkic's cross-cum-shot in 86 minutes into the
net, recovering to grab the ball as it crossed the
line.
Rangers substitute Nacho Novo almost pulled a goal
back with the last kick of the game, when his
twenty-yard volley from Sasa Papac's cross produced a
superb one-handed save by Valdes at full stretch.
Afterwards Walter Smith reflected:
"It was a very difficult ninety minutes. We got off to
a bad start, and lost goals at bad times. I'm pleased
with how we handled the game. I have no complaints
about the result. I'm delighted we have European
football post-Christmas with two games to go, but hope
to progress in the Champions League."
Next stop Stuttgart...
BARCELONA Valdes; Puyol (Oleguer 84), Thuram, Milito,
Abidal; Xavi Hernandez, Yaya Toure, Iniesta
(Gudjohnsen 69); Messi, Henri, Ronaldinho (Bojan Krkic
76)
UNUSED SUBS Jorquera, Sylvinho, Giovani
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Cuellar, Weir, Papac;
Beasley (Novo 68), Ferguson, Hemdani, Adam
(Darcheville 61), McCulloch; Cousin (Naismith 76)
REFEREE Eric Braamhaar (Netherlands)