Conte confident ahead of Catalonia clash
LONDON — Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes the English champion can do “something incredible” by knocking Barcelona out of the Champions League at Camp Nou on March 14, despite blowing a lead to draw the first leg of its last-16 tie 1-1 on Tuesday.
Willian vindicated Conte’s bold team selection by putting the Londoners ahead just after the hour mark, having also hit the woodwork twice before halftime.
However, Barca pounced on a very rare Chelsea mistake on the night as Andres Iniesta intercepted a slack Andreas Christensen pass and squared for Lionel Messi to slot home his first goal in nine appearances against the Blues.
“We must be realistic. We are talking about Barcelona. They showed tonight to be a strong, fantastic team,” said Conte.
“We have showed that if we are ready to work very hard together defensively, but continue to have the right feeling when you win the ball when you have the chance to score, we can try to do something incredible at Nou Camp.”
Conte named a front three without a recognized centerforward with Willian and Pedro either side of Eden Hazard, while the 21-year-old Christensen started in place of club captain Gary Cahill.
Conte refused to pin the blame on Denmark international Christensen for conceding.
“I think it was a great performance, an incredible performance,” added Conte.
“We’re talking about a player who’s only 21. It’s great that he can play this game with this maturity. I am very happy. For me he was one of the best players tonight.”
Barcelona enjoyed nearly 70 percent of the possession, but lacked the penetration to open up Chelsea’s well-organized defense.
“At times it seemed like a handball match because they sat back and waited,” said Barca midfielder Ivan Rakitic.
“It is difficult when they have eight players behind the ball.”
However, Conte defended his tactics, saying it would be “crazy” to set up against Barcelona any other way.
“When you play against Barcelona you know very well that if you want to face them box-to-box then you are crazy and you will lose, not 1-0, (but) 4, 5, 6-0,” said Conte.
“You must play with intelligence, especially if you know that (Barca) level is up on us. You must play an intelligent game.”
Chelsea’s former Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas stressed the importance of going to Catalonia in three weeks’ time with attacking intent.
“We have to go there to attack and score because 90 minutes defending at Camp Nou is an eternity,” said Fabregas, who played for Barca between 2011 and 2014. “It is a suicide mission.”
Messi’s goal was the first a Barcelona player has scored in an away Champions League match over six games.
And while Barca boss Ernesto Valverde welcomed the slight advantage gained from a sub-standard performance, he is concerned about Chelsea’s counterattacking capabilities in the return leg.
“It is very important to have scored here and logically both teams will respect their own style in the second leg. They have the attacking resources to cause us problems,” he said.
“It is important to have the advantage, but it is far from decided.”