London - Jose Mourinho's magic touch in Europe appears to be fading.

After leading FC Porto to back-to-back titles in the UEFA Cup and Champions League, Mourinho hasn't made the same impact with Chelsea - despite its domination in the Premier League.

Eliminated by Liverpool in last season's semifinal, Chelsea lost 2-1 at home to Barcelona in Wednesday's first knockout round and has to score at least two goals in the second leg at Camp Nou on March 7.

Bookmaker William Hill has the Blues at 7-2 to reach the quarterfinals; Barcelona are 1-3 and 9-4 favorite to win the title.

"I prefer to go to Barcelona with a positive frame of mind," said Mourinho, who has won seven titles in four seasons with Porto and Chelsea. "We'll go there to compete and do our best."

Barcelona lost 3-1 to Atletico Madrid at home as recently as February 5, and the same result would put Chelsea into the last eight.

But Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o didn't play in that game and the Catalan club has not lost at home in the Champions League since April 2003 - when it was beaten 2-1 after extra time by Juventus.

Liverpool, in the 1976 UEFA Cup semifinal, is the only English club in 18 visits to the Camp Nou to beat Barcelona.

Chelsea seems certain to win the Premier League title for the second season in a row, although its 15-point lead was cut to 12 after a shock 3-0 loss at Middlesbrough on February 11.

The Blues also fell behind before beating League One Colchester 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

But Mourinho, who was furious that Chelsea played for more than half the game against Barcelona with 10 men after leftback Asier Den Horno was sent off, doesn't think his team is on the slide.

"I prefer to lose like this, than I do in a run-of-the-mill game like Middlesbrough, losing 3-0 where we defended badly," Mourinho said. "I am more proud of my players losing in this way.

"What we have got to do is go over there and compete. We can discuss whether we go over there and try and get it to 2-1 and go to extra time. We have the right to go to Barcelona and compete on an even playing field." - Sapa-AP