FC Barcelona V Chelsea FC
UEFA Champions League: Knockout Phase, Round of 16, Leg 2 (1-1 Aggregate)
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia
Wednesday, March 14th, 2018 2:45PM EST FS1
With an aggregate scoreline of 1-1, FCB holds the slenderest of leads as a 0-0 draw would see La Blaugrana go through via the away goal difference. However, I highly doubt that us spectators are in for a scoreless outing. The question is, will Chelsea have enough firepower to match that of Barcelona at the Camp Nou? History tells us no! The last time La Azulgrana lost in front of its home supporters in a Champions League fixture was way back in 2013 against the eventual title winners FC Bayern München. In fact, Barca has gone unbeaten in its last 24 home UCL matches (22 wins and 2 draws), simply incredible! Couple history with a current FCB squad boasting Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, a resurgent Ousmane Dembele, as well as a stout midfield, defense, and anchor in front of goal in Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, and it appears that the Blues will need to play a perfect match.
Now, when Chelsea indeed does play its “A” game, they’ve proven to have the ability to beat just about anybody— anybody in England, as they were the 2016-17 Premier League Champions. But, we simply don’t know whether Willian can replicate his world class performance from Leg 1, nor can we count on Eden Hazard performing at his desired Galactico level. Then when you think of Chelsea’s backline, one must hold his breath because the occasional blooper tends to strike in the most inopportune times for the Blues. Exhibit A: In Leg 1 of this tie, Andrea Christensen produced an errant pass in his own final third that lead directly to Barcelona’s equalizing goal. With that said, there’s a reason the games are played on the pitch and not on paper, you simply never know for sure what will transpire. Chelsea and its fans must believe they can replicate what their predecessors achieved back in 2012, when the squad drew 2-2 at the Camp Nou, advancing past Barca 3-2 on aggregate. The same scoreline would be enough again this time. Do the Blues have what it takes to defy the odds?
LSB Prediction: This matchup makes me cringe a bit, especially after watching Leg 1. Willian was incredible in that match, and if he’d been just a few inches more accurate on a couple of his shots (Willian hit the woodwork twice), the score would have been a 3-1 Chelsea win instead of the eventual 1-1 draw. If he can replicate that performance coupled with Hazard and Morata stepping up, then this tie will get quite interesting over the final half hour. But, often times, when the underdog doesn’t maximize its opportunities, as Chelsea failed to do in Leg 1, that tends to come back and bite you. As such, Messi will be magisterial as usual for Barcelona, beating the talented Belgian Thibout Courteut twice, and Dembele will deliver service from out wide for Suarez to strike the third and final blow! 3-1 FC Barcelona (Barcelona advances on aggregate 4-2)
Other UCL Fixtures
Manchester United CF V Sevilla FC: 3-0 Manchester United (Man U advance on 3-0 aggregate)
AS Roma V Shakhtar Donetsk FC: 1-1 Draw (Shakhtar advances on 3-2 aggregate)
Besiktas JK V FC Bayern München: 1-4 FC Bayern München (Bayern advances on 9-1 aggregate)