Beware of the Blues: The reactions from a Barcelona fan
It's going to be yet another 180 minutes of high drama as defending champions of the Premier League, Chelsea has been drawn against the mighty Barcelona.
The Barcelona fans would have shone with confidence had it been a couple of seasons ago when they were decimating every team on their way. Gone are those days when fearsome trios like Xavi-Iniesta-Messi or Messi-Suarez-Neymar were winning the mental battle even before the game kicked-off and that is the bitter truth for any 'Cule' to digest. Now let us look at why Barcelona shouldn't be a lot happier than Chelsea about the Round-of-16 tie in the UEFA Champions League:
Barcelona need to win, Chelsea WANT to win
It is of utmost importance that Barcelona show no signs of complacency like they did against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. There are numerous teams apart from PSG namely Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and so on, who can be a litmus test to the European giants. It requires a more cautious approach than when the Catalans face a fellow European giant like Real Madrid or the less favoured Beskitas.
Don’t mistake me for misjudging the quality of the teams mentioned above. The knock-out stages of any cup competition are seldom decided by just quality. These are the games where the team which shows more will, determination & vigor could reign supreme. This is where Barcelona have lost out to several teams over the years since the treble victory. We lost out to Atletico Madrid, almost to PSG and then Juventus finished the job.
The common factor amongst teams like Atletico, PSG, Juventus is simply motivation and desire to go farthest in these cup tournaments. The reason is simple as these are teams which haven’t won the UEFA Champions League ever or either since many years ago. Now drawing comparisons to the current Chelsea side, the league Champions from London are welcomed to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after 2 years and especially after a horrendous league campaign in 2015-16 that didn’t allow them to participate in Europe last season.
And whether we like it or not, Result = Quality + Desire + Form + Luck
We are talking about 4 different factors here and this implies that even if Barcelona possess better quality, a team which can out-do them in the other 3 departments such as desire, form and luck could end up going past them. So no, they aren’t clear favorites just because of the quality.
Antonio Conte as all of you would have noticed, is a no-nonsense manager and he wouldn’t be tolerating any lack of motivation in his 11. The cases of David Luiz, Bakayoko and Willian are all live examples of how much he values commitment, desire, and willingness. There is only one way for a player to be in his eleven and that's when he runs, he sweats and he earns his spot. So there is absolutely no doubt that they would be willing to take Barcelona to the brim even if the Blues don’t go through to the next round.
Collapse in Catalonia
The Catalans have slid downslope and this hasn't happened overnight but it is a collection of blunders right from not keeping key players happy, not adding depth to a fragile bench, not upgrading positions in various departments, all together that has brought them to this state. There are one too many myths about Barcelona that ought to be broken right away:
1) Barcelona are not the best attacking side in Europe. Given the likes of Manchester City, PSG and so on, it is safe to say they aren’t even the top 3 among the best attacking sides at the moment.
2) At the same time, defensively there has been a tremendous improvement. Yet there are times when they are shaky facing the counter attacks but if the situation demands they do sit back in 2 banks of four and let the opponent enjoy possession. It looks like they have finally realized its nothing shameful to be pragmatic
3) Another major reason for the defensive improvement is the high-pressing. Playing 4 midfielders could also be a reason for this but the immediate pressure applied by Barcelona after losing possession has shown a striking resemblance to the good old Barcelona.
4) Ter Stegen has been absolutely world class in this season and he arguably is the 2nd most important player after Messi in the squad. The Blaugranas have kept 13 clean sheets in La Liga & UEFA Champions League and the German prodigy is a major reason for the same.
5) Nelson Semedo could be the only potential weak link in the Barcelona line-up as he hasn’t faced the Hazards or Neymars of the world yet. His confidence seems to have taken a hit in the recent games with Sergi Roberto replacing him more often than not. However, the Portuguese are suspended for the first-leg at Stamford Bridge and he is likely to feature in the 2nd leg only if he is to show signs of consistency.
Don’t forget what Barca have…
Dembele will be returning by the end of this month and in all likelihood, Barcelona would go back to the traditional 4-3-3 then. The Frenchman’s inclusion will be decisive in how the remainder of the season would be turning out at Camp Nou. If he is going to fit in seamlessly, we could witness another trio wrecking havoc in front of goal. On the contrary, if Dembele struggles then it would be a real challenge for Valverde to bring a balance into the eleven.
Another classic in the making?
Come what may, what’s the fun in staying up midnight and tuning to watch Barcelona or Chelsea face the minnows of the tournament? This game has all the elements to be a classic and it's up to the fans to make it a memorable one. Lets cheer, lets banter, let's remember the game for all the good reasons and hopefully, it is the better team that will progress.