THE BIG CHELSEA GIVEAWAY
Christensen blunder gifts leveller to Messi and blows Conte hopes of famous Euro win
He wasn’t the man of the match. that was willian. His team did not have the best chances. those fell to Chelsea. Yet if Barcelona approach the second leg as favourites, and they do, Lionel Messi is responsible. again.
One chance, that is all he needs. and Messi got it because he, allied with Barcelona’s relentless forward drive and immense levels of possession, will terrify any opposition. Raw defenders in possession, in particular.
andreas Christensen had not looked happy with the ball at his feet all night. He had sliced one attempted pass behind him for a corner in the first half. Yet Chelsea kept trying to play their way out of trouble, giving their least experienced defender the ball in tight spots as Barcelona harried.
something had to give, and eventually it did. Christensen received the ball deep on the left and, as Barcelona closed, he played a suicidal pass across his own back line. Miscued, it turned into a 50-50 for Cesar azpilicueta.
He dived in, going to ground rashly in sheer desperation, missing his tackle, and allowing andres Iniesta to slip the ball inside. when it became apparent who was waiting, there was no doubting the outcome.
no side have held out longer against Messi than Chelsea, 730 minutes until this point. His first game against them was the last Barcelona victory, almost 12 years ago to the day, but he had never scored — before last night. so that is another record broken.
the finish was perfect, assured, near post. never in doubt. Yet for a time, Barcelona’s advantage in this tie was. It was fitting, perhaps, that willian was off the pitch when Barcelona’s goal occurred, receiving treatment on a bloodied lip. He deserved to be on the winning side, so at least he was not present when Chelsea conceded.
For if this was an excellent team performance, given the low expectations for Chelsea in this tie, it was arguably willian’s finest 90 minutes in a blue shirt.
He hit the right post, he hit the left post, before finally getting his rightful reward with a goal on 62 minutes. third time lucky, some said. But there was nothing lucky about it.
eden Hazard played a curling pass across the edge of the area, and willian did what he does best, sizing it up before as good as passing it into the net from 20 yards out.
In these moments, he reminds of no-one more than thierry Henry, the same glorious precision in front of goal, shots stroked so delightfully they have the accuracy of passes and only slightly more power.
and while Barcelona may have had the superior passing statistics, Chelsea came closest to scoring and were more than worth their draw. the english team who looked to have pulled the shortest Champions League straw travel to the nou Camp next month with a small reserve of optimism few thought possible when this draw was announced.
they have shocked this team before, in considerably more desperate circumstances, and there have now been eight meetings since the last Barcelona win — on February 22, 2006.
In that period there have been two Chelsea wins and six draws, but that is why the advantage remains with Barcelona this time. a low- scoring draw will still do them; 0-0 and they progress on away goals, 1-1 and the match goes to extra time. still, it’s better than many hoped. Before this first leg, a lot of stamford Bridge regulars were more concerned with damage limitation.
Yet if there has been a theme this week, it is that possession, in itself, can be a false indicator, and so it was last night. Chelsea often played wigan to Barcelona’s Manchester City — but with one big difference.
Chelsea had more shots at goal, as many shots on target and the two closest shaves of the 90 minutes. Barcelona have every right to fear them, and the prowling willian in particular, when the teams reconvene.
true, for long periods Chelsea were observers as Barcelona hogged the ball — reaching 81 per cent possession at one stage; yes, they may have misplaced passes and then been forced to watch Barcelona control the play for minutes on end; yes, n’Golo Kante may have mustered two touches and one tackle in the opening 29 minutes. But Chelsea could have led at half-time by more than one.
It is immensely energy-sapping trying to contain Barcelona’s brilliance, but Chelsea did so. Luis suarez was barely in it, apart from one save and one dive, while Messi was mesmerising, but his wider influence often limited.
Of course, his intelligence is always apparent, his wit, his will, his ability to conjure a chance, and it was unfortunate his moment of finest creation fell to Paulinho, who appeared to have his tottenham head on. Using it, he steered the ball wide of the target.
Chelsea had the best of it overall, lengthy exercises of keep-ball aside. antonio Conte gambled by playing Hazard through the middle up front, a ploy that has not worked against considerably inferior opposition in the Premier League this season.
On this occasion, however, it paid dividends. ably supported by the outstanding willian, Hazard matched Messi in the battle of the no 10s, found space, teased
Barcelona’s defensive midfield and, on occasions, terrified their full-backs. Barcelona did not look like a side unbeaten in La Liga this season, Chelsea far from a team with four wins in 13.
It was a short period towards the end of the first half that could have seen Chelsea pull clear. In the 33rd minute, Hazard fedWillian, who cut inside, drifting past Sergio Busquets before unleashing a shot of such venom that keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen could only look on helplessly. It hit his left post, rebounded out and the danger passed.
Seven minutes later, pretty much the same again. Willian once more, on the opposite side of the penalty area, struck Ter Stegen’s right post. At least the Barcelona goalkeeper had time to dive this time.
Nor did the pressure abate as, three minutes before half-time, Chelsea floated in a free-kick which was only half cleared by Barcelona’s back line. The ball fell to Hazard on the edge of the area and his volley disappeared over the bar.
Yes, we know what we think will happen on March 14, but Chelsea have surprised before. Messi may be on the scoresheet, but that doesn’t mean he is guaranteed a berth in the quarter-finals, too.