Barcelona and Chelsea bring out the best and worst in each other and, while there was plenty of the good, there was even more of the bad and the ugly last night. It was mesmerising sport punctuated by bickering, cheating and shameless attempts to land opponents in trouble. Of the predictable attempts to blame each other, all that can be said is that neither club should rush to plant their flag in the moral high ground.

Of the result, Chelsea could be by far the happier, but then José Mourinho’s teams are always likely to be the victors when a football match becomes a street fight. They had quality on top of their physical power, but Barcelona will be kicking themselves for allowing Didier Drogba to snatch the injury-time equaliser and steal a psychological advantage in this sporting soap opera that now boasts six unmissable chapters.

Mourinho probably cackled all the way home having once again driven Frank Rijkaard, supposedly the epitome of Dutch cool, to such fury that he advanced on to the pitch to stop his players haranguing the referee, only to turn on the official himself with a violent wave of the arms.

Drogba’s late goal left Barcelona with a scrap for qualification and while they should still progress, they know that Chelsea are formidable rivals. From six matches, the tally stands at two wins, two defeats and two draws apiece after three years of memorable confrontation. A showdown in Athens would be a momentous decider.

Mourinho knows how to get under the Catalan skin and it may not be coincidence that Chelsea took to the field all in white, the colours of Real Madrid, who are reviled here even more than the Barclays Premiership champions. He was even whistled by local reporters as he departed his post-match press conference, but he might have feared a chastening evening when Deco hunted the ball down, strode forward and whacked it past Hilário as early as the third minute.

The stage appeared set then for a night of classic football. It was certainly memorable, although it would have been even better if both sides had spent more time playing and less time arguing. So often was Stefano Farina mobbed by groups of argumentative players that he must have felt like he was in a rolling rugby maul, with him as the ball being wrenched this way and that.

There was so much swirling around the official that, by half-time, no one was sure whether Ashley Cole had been booked once or twice. The tackles were sly rather than violent — although Ricardo Carvalho and Rafael Márquez were guilty of a couple of horrors — but each was followed by a bout of accusations and recriminations. The foul count of 29 to 14 went against Chelsea, although they were entitled to shout “hypocrites ” to the cries of “Teatro” that rang around the Nou Camp.

You might also want to know about the football and there was some, including bursts of real class. Lionel Messi gave Cole his toughest night since the full back duelled with Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2004.

Cole had his work cut out but he did better than Khalid Boulahrouz, who was culpable for both Barcelona’s goals. He lost control to Deco for the first, the midfield player advancing into space and beating Hilário with a fizzing drive from more than 20 yards. Barcelona were intent on revenge for their defeat in London a fortnight ago and they should have doubled their advantage when Messi skipped to the byline and cut the ball back to Ronaldinho, who shot over the crossbar. Xavi drew a fine save from Hilário and Víctor Valdés proved just as alert at the other end when he twice saved from Arjen Robben.

Chelsea could afford to lose but they were not going to roll over in the Nou Camp. Mourinho sent out his players on the front foot after the interval and they were soon on level terms. Robben had just missed a good chance from Frank Lampard’s cross when the England midfield player executed a remarkable, although perhaps not entirely deliberate, finish.

Chasing the ball to the goalline after a miscontrol, he turned to chip across the six-yard box. It arced over Valdés and into the far corner. Did he mean it? Lampard did not look remotely embarrassed.

The lead lasted only six minutes before Boulahrouz made his second bad mistake of the evening. Misjudging an attempted interception, he allowed Ronaldinho to steal the ball away. Eidur Gudjohnsen swept home what he must have thought would be the winner.

But then Drogba slipped away from Márquez and Barcelona found themselves cursing the referee, Chelsea and Mourinho. And that is just as the one-time Nou Camp translator would have wanted it. Roll on Athens.

BARCELONA (4-3-3): V Valdés — G Zambrotta, R Márquez, C Puyol, G van Bronckhorst — Xavi (sub: A Iniesta, 83min), T Motta (sub: Edmilson, 57), Deco — L Messi, E Gudjohnsen (sub: L Giuly, 76), Ronaldinho. Substitutes not used: A Jorquera, J Belletti, L Thuram, J Saviola. Booked: Motta, Messi, Gudjohnsen, Edmilson.

CHELSEA (4-1-3-1-1): Hilário — K Boulahrouz (sub: J Cole, 76), R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole — C Makelele — M Essien, M Ballack, F Lampard — A Robben — D Drogba. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, Gérémi, W Bridge, P Ferreira, S Kalou, S Wright-Phillips. Booked: Lampard, A Cole, Robben, J Cole, Terry, Essien.

Referee: S Farina (Italy).