We learned from Barcelona vs Chelsea
Camp. Now, Barca sit on top of La Liga and arrive in the Champions League quarterfinals as one of the favourites to win the tournament.
There is still a good case for Barca needing more energy throughout the side, and senior players will soon need replacing, but there is clearly still plenty of life in their old guard yet.
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS Champions League knockout ties between Europe’s biggest clubs tend to come down to the little things, and that is where Barcelona made their superiority count.
If Courtois’s legs were a couple of inches closer together then perhaps Messi wouldn’t have scored his opener.
Had N’Golo Kante not tackled Cesc Fabregas when his teammate was in on goal, perhaps Chelsea might have pulled one back.
Likewise only the width of the post denied Marcos Alonso’s precise freekick shortly before halftime.
Chelsea might say this could have been a whole lot closer on another night, but the truth is that Barcelona are brilliant at the little things, and that reliability underpins their ability to deliver on these occasions.
GIROUD IS A WEAKENED WEAPON IN EUROPE There were several moments on the night when Chelsea worked the ball back to Courtois to get out of trouble, who booted it long for Giroud.
That is fine as a tactic, except for the fact that almost every time Giroud leapt in the vicinity of a Barcelona defender, he conceded a foul.
In the Premier League Giroud’s physicality is a potent weapon, but in Europe, where officials are less likely to let a rambunctious challenge go, he is a far less effective tool.
GOMES RETURNS TO A STANDING OVATION Andre Gomes gave an interview last week explaining how much he has suffered as a Barcelona player. He was so ashamed of his performances that he wouldn’t leave his house, he told Panenka magazine, and said his time at Barcelona had been “a kind of hell”.
So it was wonderful to hear the loudest roar of the night reserved for his appearance off the bench in the second half.
The same fans who had booed his entrance against Atletico Madrid earlier this month took to their feet and the volume rose to salute a footballer brave enough to take on the stigma around sportsmen and mental health.
MESSI. JUST MESSI. It was another memorable night for Messi who scored his 99th and 100th Champions League goals – in 123 games – which both skidded through Courtois’s legs.
He has the touch, passing range and awareness to play as a No. 8 when the acceleration finally goes, yet his second goal showed that those 30-year-old legs are still lethally quick.
This learning may shock you: Messi is not done scoring lots and lots of goals.
His days as a midfield conductor a little way off. The Independent