How did Chelsea’s players fare in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash against Barcelona?
Manager Antonio Conte clearly had a plan in mind, opting for a 3-4-3 to counter Ernesto Valverde’s side. The Italian gaffer chose Antonio Rudiger over Gary Cahill to partner Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen in a flat back three, with Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso on the flanks.
There was no place in the starting XI for either Alvaro Morata or Oliver Giroud, with Cesc Fabregas and N’Golo Kante in midfield and Pedro and Willian chosen to support Eden Hazard upfront.
Conte’s tactics nearly paid off- Chelsea clearly had the better chances, with Willian hitting both sides of the posts in the first half. The Brazilian opened the scoring after the hour mark with a well placed shot, and Chelsea’s back three handled Messi and co. quite well for 75 minutes until a mistake from Andreas Christensen allowed the Argentine to equalise. The Danish centre-back, still 21, had a fantastic game, but that misplaced pass could very easily end up knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League- such are the thin margins in European football.
Here is how several British newspapers rated the Blues- we’ve compiled all of their ratings in one place. Willian was clearly their best performer on the night, with skipper Azpi and the tireless N’Golo Kante not too far behind.