How Do Chelsea Overcome Barcelona?

[ScottBF2 3,540]

In the OP there is a statistic given i.e. Barca completed 548 passes to Inter's 67.

I have only recently began to notice how many passes Barca make that are completely unnecessary - wee tip-taps between for example Xavi and Iniesta which achieve absolutely nothing. Then you see Xavi's match stats of something like "100 passes, 98% complete" - no wonder.

That's not to take anything away from the football they play, by the way. I find them a joy to watch overall.

Every pass has a meaning and an end result. The short passing draws opponents in, lets them think they have the player under pressure, then they just lay it off to another team mate and the ball's gone before you know it.

Barcelona play a type of Football on a psychological level as well as physical. It must be a total mindfuck being on the field against them.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

They have good defensive stats because they hold the ball for so long that there's little time to attack them.

Man for man, that defence is far from impregnable.

Attack is the best form of defence, as they say.

If you have a system whereby you don't need to defend traditionally then there's no need to defend traditionally. Bielsa has a similar mindset at Bilbao, "score more than you".

[nelsonRFC82 305]

Every pass has a meaning and an end result. The short passing draws opponents in, lets them think they have the player under pressure, then they just lay it off to another team mate and the ball's gone before you know it.

Barcelona play a type of Football on a psychological level as well as physical. It must be a total mindfuck being on the field against them.

Totally agree; it may seem like pointless passing, but is far from it. Firstly it keeps the ball (and the opposition!) moving about, rather than their own players so can help to wear down opponents legs. Also they are ridiculously comfortable playing the ball in very tight spaces, so they want to draw players on to them, to allow their teammates to get in to space and that's when they up the tempo and move the ball forward.

It goes against traditional thinking, in that the longer you hold on to the ball, your opponent can close down your angles and make it more difficult for you to make a pass, while at Barca they actively encourage opponents to attempt this and then punish them for it.

[The Godfather 71,874]

Chelsea seem to do better when tagged the underdogs this season.

They overcame City, Spurs and gave United a game (should have won from position they were in) so hopefully tonight can be the same.

Yes Barca will have the ball for long periods but if you attack them and if you can boast players like Drogba, Torres and Mata then goals will be scored because of their defence.

It will be vital for Chelsea to keep a clean sheet, a Barca goal and the tie is over for me. I think Luiz not playing will be an advantage for Chelsea as he was wobbly again against Spurs and Cahill was solid when he appeared so the back line I would think to play is :

Ivan----Cahill----Terry---Cole

I don't fancy Bossingwa on the right hand side as he tends to be caught out far too often while Ivan is deadly at corners and crosses while doing a solid job at RB.

Any news on the barca team? I take it they have a clean bill of health from the weekend?

[The Godfather 71,874]

Both going into this match on a great run of form.

Chelsea have won nine and drawn two of their 12 matches since Di Matteo took charge following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, including Sunday's 5-1 win over Tottenham in the last four of the FA Cup.

But Barcelona's recent record is even more impressive as they have won 11 consecutive Spanish league matches and are unbeaten in 15 games - including their Champions League knockout-stage triumphs over Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.

[rfcfraserrfc 262]

CUT OFF THE SUPPLY

Use the tight Stamford Bridge pitch to get up close and personal to Barca’s playmakers.

Make sure the likes of Xavi, Messi and Iniesta do not have enough time on the ball to pick their killer passes.

TEST THEIR DEFENCE

Barcelona might be the best attacking force in the world right now but they are not quite so clever at the back.

Chelsea must look to test their defensive vulnerability and not be too cautious.

SHACKLE MESSI

Lionel Messi has never scored a goal in six previous games against Chelsea.

And if Blues are to make the Champions League final, they must continue to shackle the Argentine genius.

SQUEEZE THE PLAY

Compress the play by keeping the Chelsea back four deep in their own half.

Then get the two holding midfield players to help make the Blues’ penalty area a minefield for the opposition.

USE QUICK BALLS

Javier Mascherano is not a natural central defender and can be susceptible to the quick ball over the top.

Look to use Fernando Torres in the channels and it could unsettle the Spanish giants.

DO A RAIN DANCE

Pray for rain and maybe even an act of God.

A heavy wet pitch could slow Barca down but divine intervention may be Chelsea’s best hope of getting to the Champions League final.CUT OFF THE SUPPLY

[rfcfraserrfc 262]

Got that form theshedend btw

[PaulRFC1 115]

Chelsea always perform well against Barca and Messi tends to do poorly against English teams especially away from home.

It would be foolish to rule out Chelsea, I see them getting a result tonight.

[baxterboy 476]

barca, like spain, play tiki-taka fotball - short passing and movement, penetration through the channels and dominating possession.

counter it by physically blocking their movement and triangulation around 18 yard box - where messi sets up shop, eliminating the most productive channels, and be constantly right in their faces to stop their monopoly of the ball.

midfield is absolutely critical in tiki-taka - lampard and his mates must control midfield.

barca's system is tailor made for those of smaller stature - players who can't physically dominate. the height and weight of terry and cahill can dominate puyal at set pieces, along with high crosses into taller strikers from the wings, as well as short high balls from midfield to the taller strikers who can lay off to mata and sturridge.

For me, tiki-taka ball movement is effectively countered by the athleticism of fluid 'total football' with players constantly switching positions (epitomized by the dutch), and high tempo passing.

germany were a superior team to spain in the last world cup, scoring more goals and playing better overall football than the spanish. muller, the golden boot winner, who was suspended for the spain game would have made the difference.

while barcas accomplishments are impressive i find their football less thrilling than the ajax team who had a home record of 46-0-0 in two seasons, and only lost once in 71-72, and in 72 won the dutch league, KNVB cup, european cup, european super cup and the intercontinental cup.

now should di matteo not quite have enough time to implement all this by tomorrow, then he should borrow mourinho's tactic, using terry instead of pepe to kick messi off the fucking park

[Creampuff 22,628]

Terry should hammer Messi early doors, Terry always gets away with a couple.

[Creampuff 22,628]

It'll be interesting to see whether Torres or Drogba starts upfront - either way I see them switching for the last half hour.

[Clemdog 39,389]

Defend like warriors.

Listen to motivational music beforehand.

Still don't think it will work, they need a huge amount of luck on their side.

[The Godfather 71,874]

It'll be interesting to see whether Torres or Drogba starts upfront - either way I see them switching for the last half hour.

I'd like both but tbh that wont happen.

I can see a line up like on Sunday with Drogba the lone striker, how much he has left in the tank after that game I'm not sure.

Torres will get at least 30 mins I'm sure as he is fresher than the rest due to not playing from the start on Sunday.

[alstone 374]

If they defend like they did v benfica they will be up shits creek!!

[The Godfather 71,874]

If they defend like they did v benfica they will be up shits creek!!

Indeed.

They seem to perform better when not expected to win though, the bulk of the back 4 have played against Barca a few times so that should help…they know what to expect and did a pretty good job 2-3 years ago (until the last kick of the ball) more of the same and you just never know.

Hard to beat and efficient on the counter and set pieces will be the weapon of choice for Chelsea just like the system of old…this I suspect will be a swansong for a number of these players including Drogba so one last big effort to put the cherry on top of their Chelsea careers.

[JamieD 18,932]

In the OP there is a statistic given i.e. Barca completed 548 passes to Inter's 67.

I have only recently began to notice how many passes Barca make that are completely unnecessary - wee tip-taps between for example Xavi and Iniesta which achieve absolutely nothing. Then you see Xavi's match stats of something like "100 passes, 98% complete" - no wonder.

That's not to take anything away from the football they play, by the way. I find them a joy to watch overall.

Define necessary. The purpose of passing is to manoeuvre the ball into effective positions, yes? The purpose of Barcelona's passing in particular is to dictate the entire game so that the oppositions tactical set-up is no defence against the ball getting into those effective positions. If you play a direct passing game, the opposition need one good tactical set-up, albeit impeccably employed, to stop you from scoring. If you try to keep the ball, with simple and typically risk-free passing, and instead make dramatic changes to your opponent's shape with off the ball running, stretching them this way and that and tiring them out, they are required to deploy an infinite number of tactical variations to keep your extremely gifted attacking players from landing a killer blow when you least expect. It's not rocket science. It's the same thing as tennis, for example, playing baseline rallies until you see an opening. Relying on the big serve instead is going to be a very fine tactic against players with rudimentary defence and technical abilities but what happens when the big serve just comes straight back to you?

You say the wee tip-taps between Xavi and Iniesta achieve absolutely nothing. But that's not strictly true, is it? It is not much of a stretch to say that in the last four years the tactic, broadly speaking, has achieved two Champions League titles, a European Championship and a World Cup.

[Creampuff 22,628]

I don't think enough people are appreciating that the likes of Lampard, Terry, Drogba etc are coming towards the end o their Chelsea career, and they'll feel Barcelona robbed them of the CL medal their careers deserve.

They'll be playing with that extra spring in their step, that little bit more determined, and in a tight game, that can be the difference.

I'll go against the grain and say 2-1 Chelsea tonight.

[keithgersbear 3,225]

Flood the penalty area and break with 3 players. Will be very interesting to see how the match goes.

[harlands plater 16,975]

Define necessary. The purpose of passing is to manoeuvre the ball into effective positions, yes? The purpose of Barcelona's passing in particular is to dictate the entire game so that the oppositions tactical set-up is no defence against the ball getting into those effective positions. If you play a direct passing game, the opposition need one good tactical set-up, albeit impeccably employed, to stop you from scoring. If you try to keep the ball, with simple and typically risk-free passing, and instead make dramatic changes to your opponent's shape with off the ball running, stretching them this way and that and tiring them out, they are required to deploy an infinite number of tactical variations to keep your extremely gifted attacking players from landing a killer blow when you least expect. It's not rocket science. It's the same thing as tennis, for example, playing baseline rallies until you see an opening. Relying on the big serve instead is going to be a very fine tactic against players with rudimentary defence and technical abilities but what happens when the big serve just comes straight back to you?

You say the wee tip-taps between Xavi and Iniesta achieve absolutely nothing. But that's not strictly true, is it? It is not much of a stretch to say that in the last four years the tactic, broadly speaking, has achieved two Champions League titles, a European Championship and a World Cup.

I did acknowledge the quality of their football, but I refer to the times when players are passing the ball between themselves and are static at the same time. Of course while this is happening there may be movement from other players which isn't picked up on a TV screen.

[JamieD 18,932]

I did acknowledge the quality of their football, but I refer to the times when players are passing the ball between themselves and are static at the same time. Of course while this is happening there may be movement from other players which isn't picked up on a TV screen.

Heh, well, I suppose when you lack physical presence there's a temptation to off-load the ball asap in case you clattered by an unseen assailant from behind

[harlands plater 16,975]

Heh, well, I suppose when you lack physical presence there's a temptation to off-load the ball asap in case you clattered by an unseen assailant from behind

I don't think you can sneak up on those guys unseen, even from behind. They seem to have a sixth sense which gives them time to take evasive action and keep possession. It's like thinking you can sneak up on a fly unseen - then just as your rolled-up newspaper comes down, it nonchanantly takes off laughing, as it's seen you all along.

[The Godfather 71,874]

Right prediction time.

3-2 Chelsea.

[rfc1990 1,140]

I want Chelsea to win but I'm not sure they can do it. 2-2

[harlands plater 16,975]

I was close last night with 1-1.

Tonight, 2-0 away win and the tie is over.

[The Godfather 71,874]

I was close last night with 1-1.

Tonight, 2-0 away win and the tie is over.

I hope like last night you are wrong.

I hate the tie being over in the first leg! The Madrid and Bayern ties last round for example.