Massimo Busacca was tasked with helping UEFA's beloved Barcelona into the quarter finals of the 2011 Champions League but they should have realised that we were already capable of providing any assistance that Pep Guardiola's men might need. 

Barcelona are a great team and play in the most brilliant way. They have the best footballers in the world but they also work harder than any team we have ever seen when the opposition have the ball. We were put under so much pressure in the first half last night that we were made to look like amateurs as we could not string more than two passes together or escape our own half. It was painful to watch and must have been a chastening experience for the players. However, Barcelona couldn't score and we were defending well with first Szczesny and then Almunia pulling off some great saves. Szczesny's departure in the 17th minute through a finger injury was a worry with Almunia's lack of match practice but the Spaniard appeared to relish the opportunity which gives us hope for the rest of the season given the possibility that Szczesny could now miss the rest of the campaign if he has suffered tendon damage. 

Despite Barcelona's undoubted dominance we almost made it through to half time without conceding. Sadly, we demonstrated our ability to self-destruct again. In the 48th minute the ball fell to Fabregas on the edge of our own area and he tried a blind back heel to Wilshere which was intercepted by Iniesta who slipped the ball through to Messi who then cleverly clipped the ball over Almunia and volleyed the ball into the net. It was a terrible time to concede and an inexplicable mistake from Cesc Fabregas who looked very short on fitness throughout the match. Given the ground that our midfield needed to cover on the night it was a surprise to see him stay on the field for 78 minutes before he was replaced by Bendtner. The captain was a passenger and despite Wilshere putting in another heroic display we were not able to maintain any pressure on their players. We got away with some impressive last ditch defending but that goal was a gift and wasted all of the hard work in the first half in which we had battled against the opposition and the referee. 

Swiss referee, Busacca, made his allegiance clear in the first half, waving away obvious free kicks for Fabregas, Nasri and then Wilshere, who's exaggeration of an injury enraged a team of players who are experts at manipulating the referee. The incident provoked a scuffle in which Eric Abidal put his hand around van Persie's throat but this was ignored by the referee. Van Persie's temper was frayed and he reacted after play restarted with an unnecessary hand-off in Dani Alves' face. The Brazilian full back predictably rolled around as if van Persie had been wielding a hammer and the Dutchman picked up a silly booking which was soon to prove costly. 

We came out for the second half looking more energised in attack and Samir Nasri made a solo break down the left flank in the 52nd minute, holding off three Barca players to win the corner. He then delivered a great in-swinging corner that just evaded Diaby's leap but the Frenchman obstructed Busquets view and he inadvertently headed the ball into his own net. It was our only shot on goal in the entire match but for three whole minutes the momentum of the game began to change, for the referee this was one second too long. 

In the 56th minute we attacked again, perhaps signalling the possible shift in the pattern of the game, and Cesc Fabregas played in van Persie who was just offside. The referee blew his whistle as van Persie controlled the ball and one second later our number ten fired in a shot on goal. The referee deemed this as time wasting and showed no hesitation as he whipped out the second yellow card and dismissed our Dutch striker. It was the most ridiculous decision you will ever see, particularly in such a big match at such a crucial moment. If van Persie had looked up when the referee whistled and then carried on to blast the ball into the stands then you could at least understand the referee's reasoning but there was not enough time for van Persie to pause for a moment. He controlled the ball and shot in one movement and didn't lift his head up once. It was an infuriating decision and Wenger's restraint in the post-match interview was admirable. Van Persie could not hold in his frustration, labelling the decision and the referee as 'a total joke' and he is right, there has to be consequences for the referee because although Barcelona dominated the two legs, at that moment the match was up for grabs and the momentum may have been turning. 

Inevitably Barcelona made the extra man count and crafted a brilliant second as Iniesta and Villa combined to play in Xavi who slotted past Almunia via a deflection from Sagna after a last ditch lunge. They won the tie with a Messi penalty after Koscielny brought down Pedro in the area. It was a tired challenge but the fact that they needed a penalty to seal the win shows how well Almunia and his defence had done. Somehow the game was still within our reach and Wilshere had the energy to play in Bendtner at the death but despite all his own talk, the big Dane took a clumsy touch and wasted the opportunity. That is what makes this defeat more painful than last year. Despite being bossed for nearly the whole tie we were only one goal from knocking the great Barcelona out and the Spanish champions are definitely beatable in this year's competition. Despite their brilliance they are at least as wasteful as us in front of goal and they are even worse than us at defending set-pieces.

We now have to refocus for a hugely important FA Cup game at Old Trafford and have to hope that Fabregas and van Persie did not do any more damage last night after they were risked by Arsene Wenger. The double is still there for the taking.

Photo: Action Images

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