Leeds Utd 1 - Barcelona 1

Barcelona: Dutruel; Puyol, Abelardo, Reiziger Gerard 68'); Xavi, Cocu; Simao, Luis Enrique (Dani 68'), Sergi; Rivaldo, Alfonso. 3-2-3-2.

Goals:
1-0. 05. Bowyer. Free kick from wide angle on left which went over Dutruel's head.
1-1. 93. Rivaldo. Volley on rebound after Gerard headed against post.

A last second goal by Rivaldo kept Barcelona's hopes alive in this Champions League match, although their final classification for the next phase is now out of their hands. With one game to go, they now have to beat Besiktas at the Nou Camp, and hope that AC Milan beat Leeds United on the last day. Any other combination means that Barcelona are out of the competition, although if they can at least draw with the Turkish side they will have the consolation of playing in the UEFA cup as the third placed team in their league. The importance of Rivaldo's goal cannot be overlooked, as a loss in Leeds would have meant that the English side and Milan would have already gone through, and Barça would have had to beat Besiktas by four goals or more even to qualify for the UEFA after losing 3-0 in Turkey earlier in the season (direct goal average counting ahead of general).

The goal also saved the head of Barcelona manager Serra Ferrer for the time being, although he is still on the critical list after an inconsistent season. He stuck to the side that took a point from Milan last week, the only forced change being Reiziger for Petit, who had still not recovered from his clash of heads with team mate Cocu the week before. Alfonso was once again the first choice striker for the European games, with Dani playing in the Spanish league matches. They were up against a Leeds side who were missing many key players, with England under 21 keeper playing in place of the injured Martyn, and Kewell, Batty, Wilcox and several others all out. Robinson proved to be a more than competent replacement however, and the youngster was the star of the match as he kept out a point blank header from Alfonso, and a header and two free kicks from Rivaldo which were all heading goalwards.

The goalkeeping at the other end was not so inspiring though, and Dutruel was completely out of position for the Leeds goal, scored by Bowyer from a free kick out wide on the left in the fifth minute. The French keeper did manage to stop a couple of shots from close range by Bowyer and Viduka near half time, and also made a couple of good saves in the second half. As the game progressed it became clear that the Leeds players were not taking prisoners, and Norwegian referee Terje Hauge was very lenient on tackles by Dacourt, Mills and others, only showing two yellow cards to each team throughout the match. Luis Enrique felt he should have had a penalty early in the second half, and with 15 minutes to go Hauge disallowed a goal from Rivaldo for a positional offside of Dani. Barcelona mounted a frantic attack in the dying seconds, Gerard powered a header down against the post, and the ball bounced out to Rivaldo, who drove it back past Robinson into the net. It was his fifth goal in the Champions League to date, but probably the most important, and local press compared it to Bakero's late strike against Kaiserslauten which kept them in the competition in their European cup winning year of 1992. It won't be worth much if they are eliminated, but if they carry on it will be seen as the turning point.