THE FIRST thing to clarify is that this is really not about revenge. It has been dressed up that way ever since we knew we were getting a repeat of the 2009 semi-final but the truth is Chelsea can take their place in a very long queue when it comes to the list of clubs who have suffered against Barcelona.

For Chelsea, it is not revenge that should be driving them on. It is about trying to keep up with the very best, and stopping the gap from growing even wider.

The trauma of Andres Iniesta’s last-minute goal three years ago should have no impact now other than crystallising the sense of apprehension among the Stamford Bridge crowd. “Not just the in-form team now,” as Frank Lampard put it, “but the top team in world football for years.” It is not easy to see how they can be beaten over two legs.

That is not to ignore the scale of Chelsea’s improvement under Roberto Di Matteo, but simply to recognise the illuminating qualities of their opponents. Pep Guardiola’s side have reached the last four of Europe’s premier competition for a record-equalling five successive years. They are looking to return the European Cup to Camp Nou for a third time in four seasons and, in the process, they have become an assembly of rare football gifts. What we are seeing from Catalonia is the team of the 21st century.

Di Matteo’s summation was that “we need two perfect games”. Even then, it might not be enough when the opposition is this refined. Barcelona have accumulated 96 goals in their 33 La Liga fixtures this season, which is more than they managed throughout last season and even more remarkable when you consider David Villa has been out since December with a broken leg.

They also have Lionel Messi, who comes armed with his own avalanche of statistics. Messi’s 243 goals for Barcelona is not just a club record but puts him equal 13th in the all-time La Liga list. In 211 matches under Guardiola he has scored 201 times. Sixty-three of those goals have come this season, which leaves him only four behind Gerd Muller’s record for Bayern Munich in 1972-73.

With this kind of artillery it is no wonder the undertone was always in favour of Barcelona when Guardiola and Cesc Fabregas, then Di Matteo and Lampard, took their seats for back-to-back press conferences in the Ron Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge. Lampard was asked at one point whether the Chelsea players genuinely believed they could win. One of the final questions for Di Matteo came from a Dutch journalist.

“In Holland,” he said, “we say every Barcelona game is like a piece of art. How do you describe Chelsea’s game?” Di Matteo smiled politely. “We play football.” As underdogs go, however, Chelsea, deserve better than to be patronised when they have won nine and drawn two of their 12 games since Andre Villas-Boas was moved on. They are also unbeaten in their last five matches against Barcelona. Lampard wanted to stress there was no inferiority complex. “We will have to be at our best because we’re playing the best,” he said. “We’re under no illusions about that. But I like the tag of underdogs. It’s just important we don’t want to take too much fear into the game. You can talk yourself into fear by talking up Barcelona.”

Then we came to Guardiola and his verdict of a Chelsea side sixth in the Premier League, 25 points off the top. “They might not have been very consistent in the Premier League but over two games they’re difficult to beat. I’m struggling to see how we’ll hurt them, create chances and score.”

If Chelsea are to stand any chance they will need to play with great control and structure because if there is one certainty it is that their opponents will have more of the ball. And Chelsea need to hope that luck is on their side. More than anything, they need the best team on the planet to have a rare off-day. Two, in fact.

“I think it’s imperative to play a pressing game,” Lampard said. “There’s no way you can be passive against Barcelona. We’ll have a game-plan to attack them, but the main thing is a sense of urgency in your defenders.

“It is going to need something special,” Lampard said.

The alternative, once again, is that Abramovich is consigned to the role of jealous observer, quite possibly with his eyes on the away dug-out.

Guardian Service

CHELSEA v BARCELONA: They've got history

1999-00 quarter-final

The Blues were favourites to reach the semi-finals after winning 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and were only seven minutes from doing so when Barca substitute Dani took the second leg into extra-time. Celestine Babayaro’s dismissal for conceding a penalty proved fatal as Barca won 5-1 and 6-4 on aggregate.

2004-05 last 16

The next meeting during Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge was also a classic, with the Blues recovering from a controversial first-leg defeat to win after a Stamford Bridge thriller. Chelsea raced to a 3-0 lead but were heading out after a superb Ronaldinho double before John Terry’s header sealed it. The win was overshadowed by Mourinho’s comments about first-leg referee Anders Frisk, whom he accused of inviting Barca boss Frank Rijkaard into his dressingroom at half-time. Frisk decided to hang up his whistle after receiving death threats, while Mourinho was branded an “enemy of football” by Uefa’s referees’ chief and handed a two-match ban.

2005-06 last 16

Barca gained revenge for their defeat a year earlier thanks to more controversial refereeing. Asier del Horno was sent off in the first leg at Stamford Bridge after clashing with Lionel Messi. Ten-man Chelsea actually took the lead, but Barca won 2-1 before securing a comfortable draw at the Nou Camp.

2006-07 group stage

Chelsea had already won at Stamford Bridge and secured a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp that ultimately helped them top Group A thanks to Didier Drogba’s stoppage-time strike. But it was an earlier leveller from Frank Lampard, the midfielder pirouetting on the byline to chip Victor Valdes from an impossible angle, that will always be remembered.

2009 semi-finals

“F***ing disgrace!” bellowed Didier Drogba. “I don’t know if he’s a referee or a thief,” cried Jose Bosingwa. That was Chelsea’s reaction as they missed out on back-to-back finals on away goals. Michael Essien scored a superb volley and the Blues were denied a succession of penalties by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo (with Michael Ballack, right) before Andres Iniesta equalised deep into stoppage-time. Drogba was banned for four matches – later reduced to three – for confronting Ovrebo.