Barcelona vs Chelsea Preview II

One week in football is a long time. Last Wednesday Barcelona were invincible, unplayable and certainties to be the first team in the Champions League era to retain the trophy. All the talk was of Messi set to tear the frail old Chelsea team to shreds with the magnificence he’s been showing all season, and the Chelsea team whos season had had 'more dips than a Doritos factory' would once again fall short in Europe’s elite competition.

However Di Matteo and the Chelsea old guard had other ideas and they pulled off what few believed they could when this fixture was drawn. Much has been made of the tactical ‘masterclass’ Di Matteo employed, making the game as compact as possible allowing no space or time for the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Messi to express themselves. Ramires was rightly lauded for his heroic performance in nullifying the threat of Dani Alves on the right wing, and John Terry had one of his finest games in a Chelsea shirt.

Despite all this, it’s fair to say Barcelona’s finishing was woeful. For a team renowned for being ruthless in front of goal, they lacked any sort of killer instinct and Chelsea were able to ride their luck to give themselves the perfect platform to reach the Champions League Final on the 19^th May in Munich. But the job is only half done and Barcelona are arguably still favourites to progress. So how do Chelsea go about stopping one of the greatest teams in football history in their own back yard?

A number of pundits and analyists have remarked that the compact style which Chelsea adopted at Stamford Bridge simply won’t work at the Nou Camp and to an extent they have a point. Barcelona are likely to play at a much higher tempo, their possession stats will likely be less as they look to play more decisively and Messi will certainly have a point to prove as he looks to score his first goal against Chelsea in 7 appearances. However the infamous ‘enormous’ Nou Camp pitch that will necessitate Di Matteo coming up with different tactics than what he used a week ago is a myth. The pitch is only 2 meters longer than Stamford Bridge, so there is no reason when defending Chelsea cannot adopt their compact unit. They should once again force Messi to drop deeper and deeper to pick up possession by staying touch tight to him and allowing him no time to turn (a job easier said than done). Sergio Ramos provided the perfect example of how this was possible on Saturday as he hurtled out of defence every time Messi received the ball between defence and midfield.

Di Matteo has said he will look to play positively in this 2^nd leg which would be wise as nobody can envisage Chelsea keeping another clean sheet. Many believe Fernando Torres will start tonight to try and utilise the ‘ much bigger’ pitch, however I believe that if Drogba is fit to start, then Chelsea should once again opt for the big man. Barcelona’s defence is quick enough to deal with Torres’ pace and his current form would suggest he wouldn’t be clinical enough to convert the few chances Chelsea are likely to get. Drogba on the other hand can provide an outlet for Chelsea if they want to go long, can hold the ball up against the comparatively small Mascherano and would likely take any chance presented to him.

Tonight is set up to be one of the most exciting semi finals in Champions League history. Many said to beat Barcelona over 2 legs was an impossibility. Tonight Chelsea will need to produce a performance superior to any they have done all season and hope that Barcelona don’t play at their mesmeric best. Whatever the result, it is certain to be quite a spectacle.