Antonio Conte’s men suffered a cruel defeat at the hands of Barcelona a few days back at Nou Camp. The Blues were taught a lesson by Lionel Messi and company and suffered a 3-0 defeat. Players like Hazard and Fabregas went missing with individual mistakes from Courtois costing Chelsea the match.
After an exciting evenly held the first leg at the Stamford Bridge, the second leg at Nou Camp promised a lot. Chelsea had fond memories of their last visit to this ground but a Lionel Messi show put an end to such hopes for the Blues this time around. The Argentine was in ruthless form tonight making the most of every little situation and showing the world why he is still the best around.
Messi shot Barcelona into the lead inside 3 minutes thanks to some poor goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois who will want to forget the night as soon as possible. The second goal came from a Cesc Fabregas misplaced pass with Messi providing the assist this time. It was far too easy for the third goal with Messi making hay of Chelsea’s leaky defence.
The Blues did play some good attacking football and perhaps the 3-0 scoreline is unfair for them on the night but Chelsea were unsure and wasteful in the final third and far inferior to Barcelona in terms of finishing.
They will want to correct their mistakes and hope to restore order when they face Leicester City in the last eight of the FA Cup. The Foxes are flying high in confidence with players like Mahrez and Vardy playing some fantastic football. The Foxes will be a hard team to beat and given Chelsea’s current form, it can be sensed that Blues can be vulnerable.
Antonio Conte will want to set things right and here is how he might line-up.
Formation: 3-4-3
Defence:
Thibaut Courtois can be expected in goal and will want to prove his mettle this time around.
The three-man defence can be Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and Antonio Rudiger.
Midfield:
Marcos Alonso might be rested in favour of Emerson for the match with Davide Zappacosta controlling the right wing back.
N’Golo Kante might team up alongside Danny Drinkwater to stop their former teammates.
Attack:
Eden Hazard will be the man on the left flank with Willian on the right for Chelsea. Olivier Giroud might be rested and Alvaro Morata might finally get a start.
