Chelsea stifled Barcelona’s key players, proving the Spanish side should not be so feared as they once wereThe first leg, you suspect, went just as Antonio Conte would have wanted it to go – apart from the bit about not playing a square ball across your penalty area to Andrés Iniesta with 15 minutes of a Champions League match remaining. But that is the problem with great tactical plans: they always rely, ultimately, on that most fallible of species: humans.Lionel Messi’s equaliser has tipped the tie Barcelona’s way, but Chelsea can draw great encouragement from the first leg and, having operated like the away side, can play the second in much the same way (another reason, incidentally, why the away...
The little genius changed the gravity of this tie with a piece of classic unforgiving skill to score his first goal against Chelsea, but until then the hosts had been a match for BarcelonaWith 11 minutes gone at Stamford Bridge Lionel Messi did his first extraordinary thing, picking up the ball in the centre circle at ambling speed, then flicking the switch on those waddling nitroglycerin jets. Pedro was shrugged away in conventional fashion. N’Golo Kanté was evaded with a jink.At which point Antonio Rüdiger made the mistake of panicking. Never panic around Messi. He wants you to panic. He smells your panic and runs right into it. As Rüdiger flailed out of the backline Messi didn’t so much dribble...
Chelsea’s hopes of upsetting Barcelona rest on Belgian but he may wonder if his best chance of achieving greatness is to moveThis week a clip emerged of three Barcelona players being confronted by a metal railing, with each of them choosing to deal with the obstacle in a different way. While Jordi Alba continued to mooch along the suggested route and Luis Suárez dealt with the inconvenience by jumping over it, Lionel Messi could be seen scurrying under the barrier, like a small child setting off on an adventure at passport control, weaving through the legs and dividing lines and leaving his parents in a state of bewildered panic. Related: Chelsea’s Conte confident of new Eden Hazard deal despite Real...
Max Rushden and co discuss a great week for English teams in the Champions League and why the away goal rule should be abolishedRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and Jonathan Wilson after a midweek goal fest in the Champions League where Tottenham staged a thrilling comeback against the Italian Champions, both Manchester City and Liverpool scored for fun in Switzerland and Portugal respectively and Paris Saint-Germain failed again in Spain. Continue reading...
Jürgen Klopp’s team struck the perfect balance in Porto with Jordan Henderson and James Milner assuming midfield control and Sadio Mané profiting from their dominanceHow many will Mohamed Salah get this season? Forty? Fifty? A tired puff of the cheeks by Porto’s Moussa Marega after his irresistible 30th said it all. There was half an hour on the clock inside the Estádio do Dragão when Salah opened his tally for the evening. Liverpool supporters idolise the man they call the Egyptian King but Salah seems to have grander plans, like conquering Europe, for starters. Salah provided the delicate touches on a night when Liverpool displayed an iron core and just what their manager, Jürgen Klopp, had requested – “a real...