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Despite going down to 10 men ​Atletico remained in the game and were able to hold out until the 85th minute, however they were eventually undone by a piece of brilliance from ​Luis Suarez – who curled the ball right into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

Then just one minute after going ahead, none other than ​Lionel Messi calmed all the nerves and made sure of all three points with a calm finish to wrap up a hard-fought 2-0 win for ​Barcelona.

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However, Sevilla squandered a golden chance to send the match into extra-time when Wissam Ben Yedder missed a last-minute penalty.

Pablo Sarabia gave Sevilla the lead after just nine minutes on a counter-attack.

Gerard Pique, who announced his international retirement with Spain on Saturday, levelled three minutes before the interval for Barcelona after he was fastest to respond to a loose ball following a Messi free-kick.

That set the stage for French star Dembele to take the headlines with a 78th minute screamer from 25 yards and again Messi played a crucial role with the key pass.

There was still time for late drama when Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen brought down Aleix Vidal in the area as the Sevilla youngster closed in on an equaliser.

But Ben Yedder hit a weak penalty which was easily saved by Ter Stegen.

The match had endured a controversial build-up when Sevilla threatened to file a complaint against Barcelona if the La Liga champions fielded more than three non-EU players.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said on Saturday that there would be no restrictions on players from outside the EU for the Supercup, despite only three being allowed in squads for league matches.

Sevilla said they could file a complaint if Barca name an “improper lineup” in Tangier.

New signings Malcom, Arturo Vidal and Arthur were expected to be Barca’s three non-EU players on Sunday, although Brazilian centre-back Marlon also travelled with the squad.

In the end, 21-year-old winger Malcom, signed from Bordeaux in the summer, was left out of the match day line-up.

Philippe Coutinho has reportedly acquired a Portuguese passport through his wife in the last week, while his fellow South Americans Messi and Luis Suarez are already EU citizens.

Sevilla qualified for Sunday’s match as last season’s Copa del Rey runners-up, after Barcelona won the league and cup double.

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But, just as the Italians looked to have grabbed a lifeline, Luis Suarez restored the three-goal cushion, by scoring a fourth in the 87th minute.

It means Barca will head to Italy next week with a place in the last four firmly in their grasp but this was not a virtuouso attacking display.

Instead, they benefited from two fortuitous own goals and some careless Roma finishing. Ernesto Valverde’s side are unlikely to meet as generous an opponent in the semis.

“It would have been better had we not conceded a goal, but we can’t complain. We have a good lead, and now we need to rest up and prepare for the match against Leganes (on Saturday in La Liga) and then the second leg,” Pique told beIN Sports Spain.

“Roma are a good team and they stood up to us well. They play good football, maybe more defensively than we thought but they tried to hit us on the break.”

After Cristiano Ronaldo’s spectacular bicycle kick for Real Madrid on Tuesday, even Lionel Messi, back from injury here, endured a slightly frustrating night, his shots and dribbles for once meeting opponents rather than the net.

Messi returned to the starting line-up after recovering from his hamstring complaint, as did Sergio Busquets, back after breaking his toe against Chelsea three weeks ago.

Roma’s own midfield enforcer Radja Nainggolan was missing with a hamstring strain.

Barca struggled for fluency in the first half, with Roma’s nine-man defensive action largely successful in channelling their opponents’ attacks down the centre, where the visitors were able to tackle, block and contain the space.

The only real early threat from Barca came through Ivan Rakitic’s cross-shot, which curved without a touch all the way through to the far post, which it struck and bounced out.

– Roma denied penalty –

By then, Roma were unfortunate not to have had a penalty as Dzeko nipped in front of Nelson Semedo, who pushed the attacker in the back. Referee Danny Makkelie, however, was unmoved.

“The referee had to have the courage to award that penalty against Barcelona. If they gave us that penalty, the game would have changed. We too are in the quarter-finals and deserve respect,” a fuming Dzeko told Italian television.

Instead, it was Barca who enjoyed the rub of the green when De Rossi attempted to cut out Andres Iniesta’s pass to Messi. Facing goal, his leaping slide connected too well with the ball, which he stabbed past Alisson Becker and into his own net.

Four minutes later, it was 3-0. Messi’s bending pass allowed Suarez a shot at goal and Alisson’s parry fell at the feet of Pique, who side-footed home.

Roma looked to have found a way back into the contest when Dzeko nipped in to convert Perotti’s cross but Suarez secured the victory and perhaps the tie.

His namesake Denis Suarez supplied the cross and as the ball spilled loose, the Uruguayan needed no second invitation to find the net.

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The double took Messi to 100 Champions League goals while his opener, coming after 129 seconds, was the fastest goal of his illustrious career.

Messi has frequently been linked with a big-money move to the Premier League but Conte is convinced the striker will retire at Barcelona.

“I think Leo wants to stay until the end of his career with Barcelona,” Conte said.

“We’re talking about an impossible situation. I repeat: we must have great respect for this player. We are talking about a fantastic player.

“I think he wants to stay in Barcelona for the end of his career. I think it’s the right way for him. He’s writing with his team-mates a great story with Barcelona.”

After full-time, Conte left the field with a congratulatory arm around Messi’s shoulder but Chelsea had chances too, most notably through Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger, who both hit the woodwork.

Alonso also thought he should have been awarded a penalty in the second half after he went down under the challenge of Gerard Pique.

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud believes his team deserved more.

“Obviously on both matches I regret the posts or bars that we could have. You have to have some success, a little luck,” Giroud said.

“What will stick in the throat is the penalty not given where it is quite obvious that Marcos is pushed in the back or he would have at least tried to shoot. It’s very hard, I think it would have changed the game.”

Messi, however, once again proved the difference, applying two clinical finishes through Thibaut Courtois’s legs and, in between, teeing up Dembele to score his first Barcelona goal.

“He knows in certain moments stars have to come out. He forces himself to do that,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.

“There’s no guarantee that he’s going to score, but he is a fantastic player. We enjoy him. We’re lucky enough to be seeing something that will go down in history.”

Off the field, however, Barcelona may face questions from UEFA about the treatment of spectators before the game outside the stadium.

Chelsea have invited any fans who experienced problems to contact the club.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “We are aware of reports of incidents outside the ground before the game where a number of Chelsea fans were hurt.

“We ask that our supporters contact us with accounts of their experiences of this evening’s arrival at the stadium so that we can take this up properly with the authorities.”

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Barcelona labored to a somewhat lucky one-all draw at the Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. While Barcelona dominated possession, Chelsea looked very dangerous and took the lead through Willian near the one hour mark. Barcelona set the final score with 15 minutes left in the game with Lionel Messi scoring after a costly Chelsea turnover for the all-important away goal.

From the opening whistle, both Chelsea and Barcelona wanted to get a leg up in the tie as soon as possible, a sight rarely seen in high profile matches as teams often wait to get a “feel for the game”. The hosts, especially, looked dangerous in the early going, causing numerous problems to the Catalan defense. First, Eden Hazard fired from the right wing but missed high and wide in the 5th minute. Four minutes later Chelsea threatened from a corner kick but Antonio Rudiger missed with the header.

While Barcelona looked to create danger from possession play, Chelsea’s defense allowed very little space with five playing in the back when Barcelona were looking to attack. But patience eventually led to a scoring chance for Barcelona, coming in the 16th minute when Lionel Messi found Paulinho inside the penalty area, but the Brazilian’s header went wide across goal.

After threatening in the opening minutes, Chelsea often sat back, frustrating Barcelona with an organized defense while looking for their chance on the counter attack. But after some early shaky defense early, Barcelona allowed Chelsea very little time inside Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s half. After 20 minutes, Chelsea saw only 25% of the ball.

Chelsea struggled mightily in possession in the middle part of the half as Barcelona were pressing very high up the pitch, leading to numerous deep turnovers, but the visitors were unable to make them pay. On the other end of the pitch, Chelsea looked to employ a similar tactic, but more often than not Barcelona fairly easily passed their way out of danger.

Chelsea started threatening again around the half-hour mark with a couple good looking counter attacks. In the 31st minute ter Stegen was called into action for the first time, making a save on Marcos Alonso’s attempt from a free kick. Three minutes later the hosts came close again, this time Willian skipping past Sergio Busquets and firing from 25-yards out. Ter Stegen knew he was beaten, ball-watching as soon as the ball left Willian’s foot, but the German was saved by his left post.

Now it was Chelsea’s turn to pin Barcelona back, with Hazard and Willian causing problems with their individual skills. But Barcelona weathered the storm and created a good chance in the 38th minute when Ivan Rakitić swung in a corner kick right onto the head of Gerard Pique, but due to just enough of a tug from Rudiger couldn’t get enough of the ball to send it on goal. After some more lax defending from Barcelona, Willian had another chance in the 41st minute, this time firing from 20-yards, but the Brazilian was unlucky again, this time hitting the other post. The very next minute Hazard ran onto a poor clearance but fired over.

Chelsea were playing with momentum after surviving Barcelona’s press during the middle part of the first half. The hosts clearly had more scoring chances and they were of better quality but going into the halftime break the two teams remained in a scoreless tie.

The second half started with no changes on either side. Barcelona looked to begin the second half with better play than how they ended the first one. They managed to pin Chelsea back quickly, but creating scoring opportunities remained difficult. In the 53rd minute, Luis Suarez showed some rare signs of life on the pitch, making a lovely play on the left side to create space, but from a tough angle couldn’t threaten Thibaut Courtois while nobody ran into the middle for what would’ve been an easy tap in as the Uruguayan’s ball went across goal. Suarez made another strong run five minutes later, but was denied by a sliding Victor Moses before he could enter the danger area.

Barcelona were pinning Chelsea back for long stretches, but Courtois barely had to break as sweet – there was just no space to operate and while Messi was always on hand to dangle around a couple players, Barcelona looked toothless. Chelsea, on the other hand, rarely went forward but when they did they were dangerous. And while the hosts were plagued by bad luck in the first half, they broke the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute. After a corner kick, Barcelona inexplicably left Willian wide open in a spot very similar to the one from which he twice hit the post. This time he curled the ball around Samuel Umtiti and Rudiger who were in his way to slot the ball just inside the left post of a helpless ter Stegen.

Now in the lead, Chelsea dropped even deeper, congesting space in the middle even more. Ernesto Valverde reacted immediately after conceding, bringing on Aleix Vidal in place of Paulinho in an effort to extend Chelsea’s back-line which now often included not only five men, but six. Barcelona were pressing, slowly chipping away at Chelsea’s defense. In the 75th minute, Suarez had a penalty claim denied, but as play continued, Andres Iniesta intercepted a poor pass. Iniesta skipped past a sliding César Azpilicueta and with the defense out of position, Iniesta had options. He sent the ball to a wide open Messi just inside the area who made no mistake, sending the ball to the near post with Courtois going the other way to tie the game at one and finally open his scoring account against Chelsea.

With the away goal conceded, Antonio Conte was looking freshen up his attacking ranks in hopes of gaining an advantage before the 2nd leg, replacing former Barcelona man Pedro with former Real Madrid man Alvaro Morata in the 83rd minute. Moments later, Danny Drinkwater replaced the only other remaining former Barcelona player on the pitch, Cesc Fabregas.

Chelsea were looking create something in the final minutes of the match, but Barcelona were intent on defending with numbers, protecting the favorable scoring draw, allowing very little space for the hosts to operate. In added time, Andre Gomes replaced Iniesta to kill off some more time before the referee blew the final whistle. While Conte tactically excellently kept Barcelona at bay, a rare turnover allowed Barcelona to leave England with a favorable result, especially considering how little the Catalans created. The return leg will be played on 14 March, but first up for Barcelona is a Catalan derby against Girona on Saturday.

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The last time these two teams met, back in August, Gerard Piqué admitted feeling inferior to Madrid. How quickly things change. Twenty-five games have passed since, Barcelona have lost none and by the close here the superiority was theirs, imposed almost by stealth, bit by bit until it was complete.

“It’s a defeat that hurts,” Zidane said. “They were sunk [in August], people said; tomorrow, we’re the ones that are ‘sunk’. We accept that, that’s football. We’re pissed off but Madrid never surrender, no matter what. People can think the league is over but I don’t think so and I don’t think the opposition coach thinks so either.”

The game ended with the ball in Real’s net; it had started with the ball in Barcelona’s when Cristiano Ronaldo’s header went in off the bar only for the linesman’s flag to be raised for offside. Then Ronaldo swung and missed by the penalty spot. Ten minutes had gone and with Mateo Kovacic a surprise inclusion detailed to prevent Sergio Busquets from bringing the ball out and Messi from finding time or space the visitors had barely had possession.

“We struggled to overcome that pressure,” Valverde said, yet it also appeared they were in no hurry. They arrived with an 11-point lead over their hosts, after all, and as Valverde had warned: “It is when you think you’re on top that Madrid hit you.”

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