Chelsea and Barcelona played out an entertaining draw at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League.
The first half was an extremely tense affair, with Barcelona dominating possession. After a bright early spell, Chelsea sat deep and soaked up attack after attack. It was a perfect defensive showing, limiting the Spanish side to few opportunities.
In fact, as the half went on it was the Blues who had better results going for goal, with Willian striking both posts with efforts from outside the area. When the break came, it was looking extremely positive for Antonio Conte’s men, who still had strikers on the bench to bring on.
The second half stated with a similar pattern, the away side dominating the ball but the home team looking stronger on the counter. When the Blues won a corner, the ball was for once played to the edge of the box, and Willian appeared for his third strike of the night – this one found the net. One nil Chelsea.
From there the Blues continued to threaten on the counter, but they sat deeper and deeper. One great break saw N’Golo Kante free on the far side but Willian wasn’t able to get on the end of it. Moments later, the ball flew down the other end and Lionel Messi took advantage of one mistake in the back line to score the equaliser.
It was a heartbreaking moment for Chelsea, who had done so well in the game defensively till that point.
After that both sides had chances to win it, and Chelsea brought Alvaro Morata on to try and win some battles higher up, but they couldn’t change anything as Barcelona looked ready to settle for a draw and began time wasting.
Here are our ratings from today’s featured Chelsea players…
Starting Eleven:
Thibaut Courtois – 7 – Really had little to do in the first half apart from take booming kicks downfield. In the second half he had to come for more and more high balls which he claimed well. Had no chance on the Messi goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 9 – Gorgeous early tackle on Messi, then another on Suarez. Led by example from the back. Was imperious throughout the game making tackle after tackle and organising those around him.
Andreas Christensen – 6 – Rare sloppy early pass showed his nerves, but recovered to play a solid first period. In the second looked much calmer until his second loose pass of the night set up Barcelona’s goal.
Antonio Rudiger- 7 – Great long ball to open the game up after ten minutes. Was then caught out by Messi as he rushed out of the three. Recovered well and used his pace to threaten in attack too.
Victor Moses – 7 – Had to stay very disciplined in the first half, but still managed to provide an occasional outlet when the team could get the ball forward. Continued to get forward and cause problems with his pace down the right, pinning Jordi Alba back.
N’Golo Kante – 7 – Had a huge amount of pressure on him with just Cesc alongside him and coped well. Got better and better and could have scored if Willian had been able to pick him out.
Cesc Fabregas – 7 – Was focused on defending and did his job well. Despite being outnumbered held his own with Kante. Played some key passes forward but was eventually withdrawn for the fresh legs of Danny Drinkwater.
Marcos Alonso – 7 – Defended well and as the first half wore on got more and more involved going forward. In the second period pushed almost up to be a forward before Morata came on, but his aerial presence wasn’t enough to make the difference.
Pedro – 7 – Probably the quietest of the front three in the first half in attack but his defensive contribution can’t be underestimated. Withdrawn for Morata as the Blues looked to change up their game plan.
Willian – 9 – Busy in attack and defence early on. His superb run brought Rakitic a yellow and gave the Blues the chance to get the team forward when they needed it most. Then hit both posts as the Blues just couldn’t find the net. Finally got his goal with a beauty of a strike, but also could have set up Kante for a goal just before the equaliser.
Eden Hazard – 8 – Provided a lot of the early threat for the Blues. Playing as a false 9 he didn’t get much of the ball but was effective when he did. Maybe should have done better when he volleyed a knockdown over the bar.
Substitutes:
Alvaro Morata – 6 – Came on to change the game and was immediately booked for dissent.
Danny Drinkwater – 6 – Came on to replace the tiring Fabregas with just ten minutes to go, gave away some sloppy fouls.
