CATALAN'S CLAW INTO FINAL AFTER USING ALL NINE LIVES!

SPANISH GIANTS BARCELONA superseded the English National team on Wednesday as perhaps the most over-hyped squad of all time. Despite their attacking freedom that has been shredding La Liga outfits apart, including a 6-2 thrashing of Real Madrid, Barca struggled to create chances against a rapidly improving Chelsea side.

The Spanish supremo's including Messi, Eto'o, Alves and Iniesta mustered up just one effort before the stoppage time equaliser that shattered 40,000 dreams. In fact it was Norwegian referee, Tom Henning, that gifted Barcelona their last-minute life-line, after a string of poor decisions that left Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack outraged at the final whistle.

The 42-year-old turned down four penalty appeals and at least two were blatant, leaving the Stamford Bridge faithful in an unforgiving mood. Controversy was the word on most West Londoner's lips and after Henning signaled the end of the match, he was rallied with a protesting Ivorian and devastated German. Despite his aggression, Drogba has since revoked his accusations and apologized for the scenes that erupted. He said, ''While it is clear that some of the events last night were regrettable, they occurred only because of the high emotions and frustrations which arose from the disappointment of a controversial defeat in such an important game.''

Both players and staff at Chelsea F.C have backed Drogba's abuse and have accused UEFA of selecting an inexperienced official for a match of such high magnitude. However, whatever the circumstances, Roman Abramovich's dream of grasping the elusive Champions League trophy will have to wait for at least another 12 months and traipsing across the turf, post-match, he was the loneliest billionaire in London.