Barcelona vs Chelsea: Eden Hazard must not be sacrificed as a false-nine in Spain
For all his talent, the Belgian is not the biggest or strongest and it's criminal to waste his talents as a makeshift striker
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BARCELONA don’t like playing against Chelsea.
Our record against them is better than most and even the mercurial Leo Messi took eight games to finally stick one past us.
Chelsea last tasted defeat way back in 2005 at the Nou Camp, losing 2-1 on the night, yet we still went on to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate, dumping Barca out of the competition.
The times they have knocked us out haven’t been without controversy and leaving us feeling hard done by, having been beaten by incredible performances by those Champions League greats such as Anders Frisk and Tom Henning Ovrebo.
Despite not seeing nearly as much of Barca in this decade as we did the last, our previous trip ended with that memorable Fernando Torres goal.
And Gary Neville screaming, of course, on the night of John Terry’s famous red card.
They don’t like playing against us and we know it.
You can talk about bogey teams and whatever else but these things do play on the minds of players.
TIME HAZ COME Antonio Conte tells Eden Hazard that he needs Champions League glory to take his game to the next level
So it’s crucial that we impose ourselves on this match and play the game we know we can play.
We were unlucky in the first leg, undone only by a defensive mistake that ultimately cost us dearly.
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We were hungrier, quicker to the ball and covering positions, sharp on the attack and incisive, the tactics almost worked perfectly.
To an extent the same worked in the first half against United too, but then at half-time for some reason we just folded and the malaise continued on into the City match.
It was just horrible to watch and not a great pitch to Roman Abramovich to retain Antonio Conte’s services.
In both matches some bizarre substitutions and a refusal to adapt to the situation left us looking lost and devoid of ideas.
Our team dominated and our best player looking lost and unhappy, and with Madrid constantly sniffing around, that’s not a good look.
This isn’t Conte’s Chelsea. Nor is this the Conte of last season either, constantly tinkering with tactics and using his substitutions effectively.
This season he seems a lot less sure of himself and that’s carrying into the team and way we play, and the false-nine isn’t helping.
If we go to the Nou Camp as we did against City we are going to be in for a long night.
We absolutely have to play with a striker who can hold up the ball and provide an outlet to relieve the inevitable Barcelona pressure, someone with the strength to hold off a strong centre-back.
Eden Hazard, for all his talent, isn’t the biggest or strongest and he doesn’t suit the central position as a focal point in this team.
False forward or otherwise, it’s a criminal waste of his talent and his ability to impact matches, and his body language clearly shows he’s not happy about it.
As he’s said recently his best position is coming in off the left, and when he’s got someone ahead of him he is able to play off and run in behind defenders.
Yet when playing false-Hazard, he’s dropping deep to collect the ball and having to play with his back to goal, all but neutralising his threat on the counter attack.
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We CAN win away against Barcelona.
We defeated Atletico in Spain earlier this season on a ground very few win at, we have the personnel to make them uncomfortable and that’s what we have to do if we’re going to come away with anything on Wednesday night.
That night we came from behind and won with a spirited and industrious performance.
But it was Hazard who was pivotal.
His talent is undeniable, and the Nou Camp in the Champions League is one of the world’s grandest stages - Hazard will want his chance to shine.
If he’s again made to sacrifice himself for the team and the result goes against us with another tepid performance, then not only could it seal the fate of our manager, but more worryingly also hasten the departure of our best player.
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