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A lot was expected of Chelsea going into the game, as surviving in the UEFA Champions League represented their last hope of making it into the competition next season - 4 points behind fourth place and 25 points behind the league leaders is no light matter. Besides, they had history on their side.
Barcelona, however, showed no signs of letting past failures into their head, as they smashed their way through the Blues 3-0 and booked their place in the quarterfinals of the competition once more.
Despite 22 men competing on the ball, every football match boils down to a few key battles that decide the outcome of the whole affair - these could be in midfield or between the attackers of one team and the defenders of the other.
Here's a look at the key battles that decided the result of this tie:
#1 Ousmane Dembele vs Marcos Alonso
Ernesto Valverde made a bold decision ahead of the tie - to start with Ousmane Dembele down the right in a 4-4-2 formation instead of employing Paulinho as a central midfielder like in the first leg - and it paid off.
Tasked with marking Dembele, Marcos Alonso was always going to find it hard to mark the pacy winger. Combining that with his uncanny knack of cutting in and dribbling past defenders, Dembele had one of his finest games in a Barca shirt.
It was only fair that he got his first goal for the Blaugrana in this match - after a deep run from the back, leaving his marker in a cloud of dust, taking a composed touch in the box and then firing one past a diving Thibaut Courtois. Lionel Messi's jubilant hug to Dembele after the goal showed how important the goal was to him.
It was not only in attack that the French winger beat the Spaniard. Dembele was also heavily involved in defending and put in a valiant tackle to deny Alonso a shot in the second half.
#2 Sergio Busquets vs N'Golo Kante
This battle was one of the few comforting things for Chelsea fans on the night.
N'Golo Kante was an absolute force in the midfield, and was one of the prime reasons for Chelsea playing much better than they did against Manchester City - a match he missed.
On the other hand, Sergio Busquets had a largely forgettable encounter, as he exhibited none of the characteristics that make him one of the finest midfielders of the game; his composure on the ball was poor, his vision wasn't up to the mark, and he was non-existent for most of the game while Kante was everywhere.
This might have been due to a niggling injury for the Spaniard, as he was subbed off in the 61st minute in favour of Andre Gomes.
#3 Lionel Messi vs Cesar Azpilicueta
It is a hard sell asking any defender to be in-charge of Lionel Messi, but Cesar Azpilicueta has been one of the Premier League's best defenders in the last few years. None of this mattered to the little magician as he danced his way past Cesar Azpilicueta and single-handedly won the tie for his team.
Azpilicueta was not helped in any way by an inexcusably poor Courtois in goal, but he also had a very poor game by his own standards. He was dribbled past by Messi on his way to assisting the second goal for Dembele and he should have marked Leo tighter on the third goal.
It was a bad day for the Chelsea defence as a whole and it is not fair to put the blame on the Spaniard for the goals, but as captain and the side's best defender, Azpilicueta had a lot of expectations on his shoulders.
It was just unfortunate that he ran into Messi in a marauding mood.
#4 Samuel Umtiti vs Olivier Giroud and Willian
With the rumour mill going on and on about Manchester United wanting Samuel Umtiti, this match was a fine example of just why.
The French defender was an absolute beast in defence and was the prime reason for Barcelona's clean sheet in the fixture. He cut off key passes into the box from Cesc Fabregas, while his presence in the air thwarted Olivier Giroud from getting onto the end of crosses and he threw himself in front of shots that would have otherwise troubled Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
.In all honesty, Willian had an excellent game for the visitors and was the most pressing of all his teammates. Giroud, on the other hand, had a largely unimpressive game - but all the credit must go to Umtiti who saw to it that his compatriot didn't receive the right input
