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Messi ends Chelsea drought to give Barcelona last-16 edge

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Chelsea manager Antonio Conte rued one costly mistake as Lionel Messi gave Barcelona the upper hand from the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie by salvaging a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Messi struck for the first time in nine games against Chelsea 15 minutes from the end, as Andres Iniesta punished the English champions once more when he intercepted Andreas Christensen’s slack pass across his own box to tee up the five-time World Player of the Year.

Willian’s fine strike just after the hour mark had put Chelsea in command after he had hit both posts in the first half.

Chelsea must now score when they travel to the Camp Nou on March 14 to have any chance of making the last eight.

“Against this opponent, this type of player like Messi, (Luis) Suarez, Iniesta, if you make a mistake you pay,” said Conte.

“There is a bit of disappointment. But at the same time this game must give us a lot of confidence to trust that in the second leg the qualification is open.”

Nine years on from combining for a stoppage-time equaliser in a highly controversial semi-final at Stamford Bridge to send Barca to the final, Iniesta and Messi swapped roles as this time the Spaniard provided the pass and Messi the finish.

“We failed to create clear-cut chances despite having domination of the game. In the end it came from an error from them and we took advantage,” said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.

“It is a good score given we were behind and clearly there is everything left to decide in the second leg.”

Conte sprang a surprise before kick-off by leaving out both Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata with Eden Hazard instead operating in the middle of a front three.

One comment

  1. Messi was fantastic and showed once again, how superior he is to Ronaldo and Tom Cleverley.

    Interesting how Barca has changed 8 players in the past five seasons, and yet have managed to be one of the best clubs in the world, while in the past five seasons, Man United continue to be a club happy with missing C.L. play, finishing 7th, 4th, 5th, 6th + 4th, vying for mini-cups and unable to defend EFL Cup against a non-PL club.

    Also, while they were not perfect, it’s clear to see why Conte has crushed Jose in 3 of their last 4 meetings, as Chelsea’s team is measurably superior to that of Man United and if they continue to play this well, Man United will drop to 3rd and depending on Liverpool and Tottenham – drop to 5th.

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