Ricardo Carvalho has defended Lionel Messi’s playacting because he thinks some of his Chelsea team-mates might have done the same.

Messi overreacted to Asier Del Horno’s challenge during Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Chelsea last week, and the Spanish full back was shown a straight red card by referee Terje Hauge.

“Mourinho says what he thinks and what he feels,” explained Carvalho to Sport. “For me, Messi did his job.

“I do not think that, after falling on the floor, it was necessary to roll about.

“It was exaggerated and he made the most of it, in my opinion.

“Del Horno missed the ball and collided with Messi because he was going so fast and the two of them both jumped up.

“I do not believe that it was deliberate by Del Horno. The referee thought it was.

“Messi, who is a good player, did what he had to.

“I am not going to criticise him because it could happen to one of our players too.”

When asked to rate Chelsea’s chances of winning the tie, Carvalho replied: “Only 30 percent. But we are going to see what happens in Barcelona.

“We want to go to the quarter finals and I hope that we can enjoy a little more luck than we did in the first match. We are going to give it all we have got.”

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