Ahead of their second leg Champions League semi final against Barcelona in the Nou Camp, Chelsea might feel a little confident that this weekend’s Clasico will hit Barcelona for six, one way or another. They might also find inspiration from teams such as Sevilla going to the Nou Camp back in October and getting a 0-0 result. But ultimately, the only way forward for Chelsea in this tie is to attack.
At this stage, with an unlikely lead to protect against one of the world’s most devastating attacks, it only seems rational to go into the Nou Camp and park the bus, plane, and any other large unit that may come in handy. But games like Sevilla’s 0-0 should be seen as the exception. A game in which goalkeeper Javi Varas was the undoubted man of the match, denying Lionel Messi from the penalty spot in the 94th minute. Yes Sevilla parked the bus, and Freddie Kanoute did all he could to further frustrate the Catalans. But if there was game for Chelsea to use as a template heading into next week, it should be either Athletic Bilbao’s 2-2 draw in the Basque country, or Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
On both occasions Barcelona were given a much more open game than they’re used to. Playing at high tempos from one end to the other doesn’t suit Barcelona’s style of slow and patient build-up play. And it certainly doesn’t help when one of their key assets in their attack in Dani Alves is stuck in his own half defending the advances from the opposition.
Both 2-2 draws were slightly different affairs in the bigger picture, but ultimately neither Bilbao nor Madrid had anything to lose. With that mentality they were able to pin Barcelona back and stop them dictating the game in a fashion they’re comfortable with. Chelsea, on the other hand, do have a lot to lose. But losing their lead seems almost guaranteed as Barcelona have not failed to score at home since the visit of Sevilla.
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It has been brought up a number of times since Chelsea’s surprise victory on Wednesday night that Chelsea got everything spot on tactically and suffocated the space in their own half. To an extent that’s true, but it doesn’t disguise the twenty four shots Barcelona had, or the lion’s share of possession. Instead, it highlighted the deficiencies in this Barcelona team. A team who are completely lacking any alternative options when a game becomes difficult. It would be completely foolish on Chelsea’s part to believe that will be the case the second time around next week.
Barcelona will be expecting a team to sit with 10 men behind the ball and afford them the time and space to meticulously prod and probe the Chelsea defence for gaps. What they won’t expect is a team to go out and genuinely give them a tough time and go looking for more goals.
There’s no denying that Barcelona’s defence has holes and weaknesses. Javier Mascherano has been preferred as the regular centre back for Guardiola this season, and he’s been a success for the most part against La Liga opposition. A player unlikely to see many games ahead of Sergio Busquets in his favoured position, he’s managed to excel in a less familiar role. But there were noticeable problems against Chelsea and Didier Drogba. The Barcelona backline are not used to dealing with aerial long balls, and that combined with the presence of Drogba forced a number of uncertain moments for the centre backs.
In much the same way, Athletic Bilbao were able to pressure the Barcelona back four with their pressing high up the pitch. Marcelo Biesla has transformed that team into much more than just a long ball team with Fernando Llorente at the tip of the sword. Instead, they’re forced to press the opposition when in possession. Real Madrid did the same thing when the tie seemed over in the Copa del Rey and it highlighted that Barcelona can’t handle the kind of pressure they like to impose on their opponents.
Again, while it has been done before, it would be almost surrendering the game if Chelsea were to go into this game with a defensive mind. They’re certainly not going to see much of the ball, but that shouldn’t discourage them from pushing bodies forward when an opportunity does arise.
Roberto di Matteo’s team have pace, power, and goals in them that would frustrate Barcelona and put them under enormous pressure.
With seemingly the Champions League as the top priority for the season, there’s very little chance of Barcelona not scoring on the night, regardless of Chelsea’s defiant backline. The only option for Chelsea on the night is to score more.
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