ONE MISTAKE AND IT HAD TO FALL TO HIM
ANTONIO CONTE challenged his team to complete an ‘incredible’ victory over Barcelona in three weeks despite watching Lionel Messi break Chelsea hearts last night.
Willian put the Blues on course for a euphoric win over the european giants before Messi capitalised on an Andreas Christensen error to score his first- ever goal against Chelsea. The 1-1 draw leaves the Champions League tie on
a knife-edge, although Barca’s away goal makes them favourites going into the second leg. But Conte believes Chelsea’s excellent display will instil belief in his players that they can complete a shock win in Spain. ‘We were very close to playing the perfect game. I think we paid dearly for one mistake,’ said Conte. ‘It won’t be easy, we must be realistic because we are talking about Barcelona and they showed they are a fantastic, strong team. ‘But we showed, too, that if we are ready to work very hard together defensively — but continue to have the right feeling to create the chances to score — we can try to do something incredible at the Nou Camp. They followed the plan and the programme we prepared. A coach can have a fantastic plan but if the players don’t believe in this plan, you are dead.’ Midfielder Cesc Fabregas said it would be a ‘suicide mission’ if Chelsea play defensively in the second leg and warned: ‘Defending there for 90 minutes can feel like an eternity.’ However, Conte said: ‘When you play against Barcelona, you know very well that if you want to face them box to box you are crazy. You go to lose the game not only 1-0 or 2-0 but like it happens in Spain — 4-0, 5-0, 6-0. You must use intelligence.’ The Chelsea coach refused to criticise Christensen for his error, adding: ‘His performance was great, incredible. We are talking about a player who is only 21. It’s great that he’s able to play with this maturity and personality. For me, he was one of the best players, I’m very pleased with his performance.’