Magical Leo leaves Eden in the shade

ANTONIO Conte had thrown down the gauntlet to Eden Hazard: “Go on then, son. Prove yourself a great. Win a European Cup.”

But the problem was the other No. 10, the little bloke who has owned this Nou Camp turf for more than a decade. The comparison with Lionel Messi was harsh for Hazard, as it would be for pretty much any mortal who has ever laced up a pair of football boots.

But in this rarefied era of Messi, and his old mucker Cristiano Ronaldo, the benchmark is impossibly high.

That Hazard falls short is no shame but he, and this Chelsea side, have been resoundingly shown up as second-rate at Champions League level.

After 20 minutes of this second leg, Hazard fashioned a half-chance but his shot was blocked. Within approximately seven seconds Barcelona had scored their second, thanks to their ridiculous Argentinian.

Messi dispossessed Cesc Fabregas and advanced at light-speed, teasing and taunting Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen then squaring for Ousmane Dembele to thump into the roof of the net. The men in white shirts looked at one another as if the victims of a drone strike.

Messi had already opened the scoring on the night. He’d also equalised in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Later he would snuff out Chelsea with another goal, nutmegging Thibaut Courtois for the second time of the evening in an act of beautiful, effortless cruelty.

It was Messi’s 100th Champions League goal and he is still only 30. Hazard, aged 27, has scored eight.

Before kick-off, Barca fans had unfurled giant banners proclaiming “God Save The King” in English, an unlikely slogan after Catalonia voted for independence from Spain.

Then, the punchline – a final banner with an image of Messi.

He never looks all that regal, in all honesty. With the hunched gait and the ginger beard, there’s more of the leprechaun about him. That is until the ball is at his feet. Then his majesty is all too apparent.

Watching him from the nosebleed seats up in the rafters of this magnificent old place is the perfect vantage point to appreciate those sudden bursts of explosive pace and decisive changes of direction.

Hazard, who appears to have been hankering after a move to Real Madrid for some time, doesn’t possess the same sense of purpose.

When the Belgian publicly voiced his displeasure at Chelsea boss Conte’s negative tactics in the recent defeat at Manchester City, it was another clear indication Hazard fancies himself as a genuine A-lister.

But put him up against Messi and it all looks like empty bluster.

There is no sense of a player who feels it is his birthright to seize a game like this by the windpipe. Rarely does Hazard demand the ball. He is too often peripheral on these red-letter occasions.

For long spells between Barcelona’s second and third goals, Chelsea were actually in the ascendancy. But it still felt like another key night on Conte’s long, lame-duck limp towards the exit door.

The combustible Italian was outstanding in winning the title last season but he burnt his bridges with Roman Abramovich long since. Marcos Alonso struck a post with a curling freekick and should have had a penalty when Gerard Pique flattened him.

But then Messi put his foot down and slipped the ball between Courtois’ legs from a tight angle just as he had done in the second minute.

And to think that, though Barcelona are unbeaten in La Liga and running away with the title, there is still a feeling here that this is not a vintage side. Yet they will surely be the team which Manchester City and Liverpool will most want to avoid in today’s quarter-final draw. Especially with Messi about.

The Argentinian had rested up at the weekend, on paternity leave after the birth of his third son, Ciro.

If you believe in bloodlines, you’ll imagine the new addition learning to dribble a football before he can even walk. For Hazard, though, another big night has passed without even a baby step towards greatness.