A FAB LOVE STORY
Cesc knows why his pals like Messi have gone quiet
‘I SPEAK to some of them nearly every day,’ Cesc Fabregas says of his friends back at Barcelona, the club where he grew up and spent nine years, across two spells. Now though, it is a little different: ‘Probably now, we speak less — maybe because of the game,’ he added. Chelsea believe they are back in their no-fear, against-the-odds mindset ahead o f Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg, and nothing comes in the way of that. Manager Antonio Conte has been drilling his players on Barcelona for a month. Perhaps the distraction hindered them in embarrassing defeats by Bournemouth and Watford, but having beaten West Brom and Hull, Chelsea are confident again. Conte says Barcelona have weaknesses to exploit. Fabregas, t oo, s ees s pace to ‘ hurt’ hi s former club.
This tie is special for the midfielder, who sandwiched his time at Arsenal with his two Nou Camp spells. He is close to Lionel Messi — they holiday together — and in regular contact with Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique.
‘It’s my hometown, the club I supported all my life,’ Fabregas says. ‘In that way, yes, it will be emotional. But once you step on the pitch, that goes away. It’s a massive night for the players, for the club, for English football in general, so hopefully we can do well and give a good image of what we can do.
‘ Barcelona try to put the first pressure very high, always work towards the ball. But if we can get past this first phase we can hurt them. They will leave a lot of spaces at the back. I’m sure the manager will find the best solution.’
Conte rested Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and a host of his other stars in the FA Cup fifth-round win over Hull on Friday and will welcome Marcos Alonso back from injury. That will allow him to play his firstchoice XI, who have gone through intense tactical sessions focused solely on Barcelona.
‘We are speaking about one of the best teams in the world,’ Conte says of Barca. ‘They have fantastic characteristics with the ball, but they can have a weakness without it and we must try to exploit this.’
Chelsea, more than anyone else, are the team the Spanish league leaders hate to play. They admitted as much after their epic last meeting: the 2012 semi-final when Fernando Torres famously rounded Victor Valdes in the Nou Camp to send Chelsea to the final.
Messi, who has failed to score in eight games against Chelsea, cried in the dressing room that night.
Conte says: ‘I hope we maintain this tradition but we are speaking about a fantastic player.
‘We must be excited to play this type of game and take on this type of challenge.’