So a goalless draw in Barcelona set us up for a thrilling second leg at Stamford Bridge eight days later. How would Guus Hiddink approach that game after the backs to the wall display in the Camp Nou?

All would become clear but before that was the sideshow of a west London derby.

Fulham had had a superb season under manager Roy Hodgson, and were favourites to secure the seventh place in the table that would bring European football. Their away form had been consistent all season, based on a solid defence that gave little away.

Chelsea's interest in the game was limited, the title by now all but out of reach but there was still a need to tie up the third place that would guarantee Champions League football next season.

'I said the day before West Ham it is a very important game and we take this game against Fulham very seriously,' Hiddink explained.

'If you are having in mind the game against Barcelona away when playing West Ham and don't get three points, then it is difficult the fight for third and second place, so we keep it in mind.

'The first target [when I came] was to get in the Champions League directly - we must be in the first three spots for qualification.

'We are focused on Fulham to make a good game, and it is possible to make a serious game and then go to the next game, but some part of your brain cannot avoid thinking of that [Barcelona match].'

It took less than a minute for Chelsea to prove where the focus was.

We were 'the better side for almost the entire 90 minutes as Anelka in particular ran the normally sturdy Fulham defence ragged,' we said. 'Beginning as a centre-forward, the 30-year-old opened the scoring after 50 seconds before Fulham equalised almost immediately through Erik Nevland.

'Soon afterwards he turned creator alongside Drogba, another constant thorn in the Fulham side as Malouda swept home, and Drogba completed the scoring in the second half after yet another Anelka pass.'

Michael Ballack was rested but the German aside, it was as strong a side as you could imagine just four days before a Champions League semi-final second leg, in an unusual 4-4-2 shape.

Ashley Cole returned from European suspension at left-back with José Bosingwa shuffling across to his customary right-sided role, while in midfield Frank Lampard started on the right, looking to tuck inside. That particular selection wouldn't be expected on Wednesday night.

At half-time with his side in control Hiddink made changes with the intention of maintaining freshness in his squad. Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack replaced Alex and Essien, the Serb slotting in alongside John Terry who was making his 400th Chelsea appearance.

Most of the focus was on attack though, and the way the front three of Malouda, Drogba and Anelka linked up. If they were capable of unpicking this Fulham defence with such Gallic nonchalance, surely they could at least trouble Barcelona's makeshift defence, which would be light of Carles Puyol and Rafa Marquez.

Chelsea 3-1 Fulham at Stamford Bridge on 02-05-2009
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex (Ivanovic h-t), Terry (c), A Cole; Lampard, Essien (Ballack h-t), Mikel, Malouda; Anelka, Drogba (Di Santo 84).
Goals Anelka 1, Malouda 9, Drogba 53
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Dempsey, Murphy (c), Etuhu, Gera; Zamora (Dacourt 75), Nevland (Kamara 35).
Goals Nevland 3
Booked Murphy 90+1

After the game, rather than bask in the attacking glow, Hiddink took the opportunity to pick out the need for defensive improvement.

'We are happy with the result but also I don't want to shut my eyes for some moments where I was not happy because we let them play and we were sloppy in some positions. That's what I didn't like despite the good win,' was the 62-year-old's assessment.

'All respect to Fulham because they had a very good season but if you do that on a higher European level, then you are exposed and punished.'

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was equally honest with his summing up and how he saw the Barça game. 'I think they will have a tougher game, the quality of Barcelona players will test the mettle of the Chelsea defence more than we were able to do today, but I am hoping they will follow up on that magnificent draw they got in the Nou Camp and finish the job by winning here on Wednesday evening,' he said.

As the big day drew nearer, all of Europe geared up for the occasion. Off the back of mauling Real Madrid 6-2 in the Bernabeu, Barcelona touched down in England with coach Pep Guardiola admitting that his side could struggle to cope physically with the Blues.

Hiddink was unconcerned at our visitors' weekend form.

'As a lover of football, I enjoyed very much the way they played [against Real]. They have a lot of circulation in their positions but wherever a dangerous player is playing we have to mark him and we have to play with our initiatives as well. You have to play very intelligently against a top team in Europe,' Hiddink said.

'The slightest error will be punished but also you must not play without any emotion because that might put a little bit the brake on your performance. If you can combine the two, you might have a very good game.'

The Dutchman's prophecy was spot on. Chelsea did have a very good game with a near-perfect performance.

The same could not be said for Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, who overlooked a number of penalty shouts. It looked like it wouldn't matter, but a well-struck, stoppage time away goal from Andres Iniesta ended our European dream, despite Michael Essien's early volley.

'It came about despite some rampaging Chelsea attacks. It came about despite clear cut chances in the face of superior Barcelona possession. It came about despite the away side suffering the traditional red card in these fixtures. And it came about despite more than one big penalty appeal,' said Chelseafc.com

Cole and Bosingwa were the full-backs, Alex and Terry in the middle. Essien held in midfield while Anelka played wide right in a 4-3-3 shape.

Barcelona were missing the injured Henry, so Iniesta played wide left and young Sergi Busquets came into central midfield. Yaya Toure dropped back to centre-half alongside Pique, so Seydou Keita held.

It took just nine minutes for Essien to strike, when Lampard's ball was blocked. It popped up perfectly for a left-footed volley. From five yards outside the area the Ghanaian wellied it and in it flew, over Valdés and off the bottom of the crossbar.

Malouda had already won a debatable free-kick out of Alves (sweet justice after the first leg!), now he was awarded another when the foul could have been called inside the area. From close by the goal-line and away to left, Drogba did incredibly well to force a panicked save from the keeper with a blasted shot.

From the corner that followed, Terry's header dropped just a yard or two wide. Barça were wobbling - an impression confirmed when Lampard with relative ease put Drogba through. Our striker went down under challenge from Abidal who appeared to tug blue shirt - but the ref was unmoved.

By half-time we were still in control. On 52 minutes came the moment that looked like a second Chelsea goal. Anelka burst onto a Malouda pass and fed a free Drogba. Cutting inside the forward shot low - but Valdés continued to stay on top in their personal duel by saving with an outstretched leg.

Barça Eric Abidal dismissed for bringing Anelka down when he bore down on goal, seemingly harshly, before the forward had a penalty shout turned down when Touré was caught the wrong side, as he had been frequently against Drogba, and the two hit the ground.

If that wasn't clear cut, the same could not be said of the handball (main picture) by Piqué in the area moments later. How that wasn't a penalty only Ovrebo knows!

Two minutes of stoppage time were played when Barcelona swung over a hopeful cross. Terry headed away but Essien missed when he could have hacked well up field. Iniesta was fed by Messi and smashed an unstoppable shot past Cech.

The incident did not end there. Chelsea won a corner for which Cech advanced. His contact was away from goal but Ballack volleyed back, the ball hitting Eto'o high on the arm.

The penalty appeal was once again huge but the only result was a Ballack booking, and Chelsea's elimination.

Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on 06-05-2009
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Essien; Anelka, Lampard, Malouda; Drogba (Belletti 71).
Scorer Essien 8.
Booked Essien 73, Alex 76, Ballack 90+6, Drogba 90+6.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Touré, Abidal; Busquets (Bojan 84), Xavi, Keita; Messi, Eto'o (Sylvinho 90+6), Iniesta (Gudjohnsen 90+5).
Scorer Iniesta 90+2
Booked Alves 29, Eto'o 90, Iniesta 90+2.
Sent-off Abidal 65.

After the final whistle, there was incredulity that erupted into visible anger at how we hadn't had at least one of the four major penalty appeals.

It took quite some time for Guus Hiddink to emerge from the dressing room to give his verdict. The reason was he had prepared first by watching key incidents in the match all over again, as dispassionately as possible, before facing questions. He even clutched a DVD of the action as if to emphasise the point.

'Players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes, the referee can make mistakes,' he began. 'And that is why we give them the benefit of the doubt sometimes. That is all in the game.

'But if you have seen three or four situations waved away, then it is the worst I have seen. At this moment I have to think a lot if I have seen worse.'

Even now, it is hard to believe we were not in Rome for another shot at Champions League glory.

To be continued…