Chelsea were unlucky, says Conte

Antonio Conte insisted Chelsea were unlucky against Barcelona and should have been awarded a second-half penalty.

Chelsea created chances in the Champions League last-16 second leg but were punished for mistakes, going down 3-0 at the Nou Camp and 4-1 on aggregate.

Trailing 2-0 on the night, they rallied and might have been awarded a spot-kick when Marcos Alonso went down under a challenge from Gerard Piqué.

Blues boss Conte said: “There was a penalty on Alonso at the start of the second half. If you score (to make it) 2-1 you can put a bit of pressure on Barcelona.”

He added: “We must be pleased for the commitment of my players.

“They gave everything. We have to continue this in this way, with this will to fight, with this desire to play together.

“For a long time we dominated the game, we created chances to score. Over the two legs we hit the post four times.”

However, Conte also acknowledged that the brilliance of Lionel Messi, who scored twice in Wednesday’s game, was the major difference between the two sides over the course of the tie.

“When you have the opportunity to make a great compliment to Messi, I think it’s right,” Conte said.

“I’m very pleased to have the opportunity at the end of the game to give him my compliments. We are talking about an extraordinary player – the best in the world.”

“I think we are talking about the player that can move the final result for every team that he’s playing for.

“This type of player, (there is) one player born in 50 years.”