BEHIND the scenes at European draw ceremonies, there are always other jousts going on. On Friday in Nyon, the finalists in the game of Spot The Smuggest Executives quickly made themselves known: Chelsea and Barcelona, a pair drawn against underdogs, who enjoyed sharing their relief that they would not immediately be meeting one another for a fourth time in four seasons, unless it is to be in the final.

Barça may have the best outcome of all eight remaining teams, meeting Schalke 04 and beginning to feel that this Champions League is doing all it can to shepherd them to the last four. A frustrating, stuttering domestic campaign has been punctuated by a European calendar that shows off what made Frank Rijkaard’s team the deserving winners of the competition 22 months ago.

Their group turned out to be kinder than it appeared when Lyons, the second best side, began their season so insipidly, and Barcelona’s reward for having mastered the French champions, Glasgow Rangers and Stuttgart would be a last-16 tie with Celtic, a meeting envied by just about 14 other clubs at the time. Against the Scots – 4-2 on aggregate – even Ronaldinho had his vintage moments, moments that have become scarcer and scarcer in this, his poorest season at the club he had formerly propelled back to pre-eminence.

Barça now face Schalke with the second leg at the Nou Camp. The Germans are unacquainted with this degree of involvement in the European Cup and must regard themselves as blessed to be there. They won only two matches in the group they shared with Chelsea – both against Rosenberg – and required a penalty shootout to move past Porto in the first knockout round.

Nor are they prolific goalscorers, with seven in eight games so far, none in 180 minutes against Chelsea and one over 210 minutes against Porto. Kevin Kuranyi, the Germany centre-forward, is yet to reach double figures in the Bundesliga, where Schalke’s domestic campaign does not have the thrust of last season, when they lost out on the title on the final afternoon. They are fifth this time.

Barcelona’s fortunes in a disjointed Spanish league have dipped alarmingly over the past fortnight, a two-point gap between them and leaders Real Madrid having opened up again to eight points going into last night’s fixtures. Morale dropped further with the thigh injury picked up by Lionel Messi against Celtic, although he should have recovered in time for a semi-final – possibly against Manchester United – if they beat Schalke.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the joint leading scorers in the Champions League this season with six, but the idea that on Messi’s availability should hang the well-being of Barcelona says much about what has been wrong. Without Messi, Rijkaard can still assemble a forward line counting in Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry; what he cannot do is expect it to act like the sum of its parts. Eto’o remains a formidable presence, but the other pair have proved as far from the ideal yin and yang of an attack as is imaginable.

Of Barça’s five league defeats this season, three have featured Ronaldinho and Henry together in the starting XI, while injuries and Rijkaard’s selection policy have meant Ronnie and Thierry beginning only eight league matches on the same teamsheet. Never have they shared a pitch for the full 90 minutes domestically, and Henry often seems cheerless at his new club.

The prospect of a final against old rivals from the Premier League may perk him up.