Makeshift Barcelona centre-back Eric Abidal has admitted to bringing down Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka in an incident that produced a red card in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final.

Abidal was being used in central defence in the absence of Carlos Puyol and said that although Anelka seemed to go down easily in the second-half challenge, he admitted to bringing down his compatriot.

"I was defending against Nico [Anelka], but as I was the last defender and the referee thought I fouled him, dismissing me is normal," Abidal said.

"If I let Nico run towards goal then he scores the second one and it is over, so we can say it is a good foul. I sacrificed myself. It is always disappointing to reach the final without being able to feature."