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Scoreline: Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea
Goalscorers: Lionel Messi 3' 63' Ousmane Dembele 20'
Showing up for a fight is one thing but landing a punch is an entirely different story. Ask Chelsea. Though the scoreline that reads 3-0 is a bit too criminal and heavy to fit in their travel bags for all the labour they generously meted out, Antonio Conte's men succumbed largely to the genius of football's greatest artist who goes by the name of Lionel Messi.
It took all of 127 seconds for the man, to whom the giant tifo in the stands that read 'God Save the King' was dedicated, to go get the first goal of the night. Chelsea toiled to claw back into the game but they were pushed further back into the boondocks as Leo Messi took it upon himself to render 5 Chelsea players invalid before teeing up Ousmane Dembele for the Blaugrana's second of the night.
He then put the locks on the gates Chelsea were threatening to kick down by nutmegging Courtois a second time after darting into the box as fast as a hare chasing a sentient carrot to usher Barcelona into the last 8 of the competition for the 11th consecutive year.
But it was not all that easy for Barcelona and thanks to the relentlessness of Antonio Conte's men, the night never ran short on excitement.
There's plenty to talk about, so let's dive right in.
#5 Ernesto Valverde gets his starting XI spot on
Heck, it is so hard to find a photo on the internet where Valverde looks distraught. Gauged by many as someone who got lucky punching above his weight at the onset of the season, Valverde's calm demeanour was not often looked at as a measure of the man's sagacity.
But he has already led this Barcelona side to great things and with quite a few options at his disposal and a result to obtain, Valverde got it spot on with his team selection.
Andres Iniesta went through a late assessment on the day and was okayed to play and Valverde deployed the Spanish genius to take charge of the midfield and alongside Busquets and Rakitic, he kept things simple and ticking in the centre.
There was also the question of using Dembele on the right flank but the kid proved his worth in the game against Malaga and repaid the gaffer's trust by scoring the second goal of the night and being a constant thorn in the flesh of the Premier League's defending champions.
Dembele had no qualms about tracking back and even put in a sensational last-ditch tackle to steal the ball from Alonso just as the Spanish wing-back looked all set to pull one back for Chelsea.
Iniesta is not at a stage in his career where he can return from an injury and work for 90 minutes at a stretch and with the game looking safe and settled, Valverde chose to send Paulinho in for the veteran.
The Brazilian put in a decent shift and even tested Courtois with a towering header in the final quarter of the game.
Busquets came off sore after Moses crashed into him near the centre circle and Valverde gave a run out to Gomes who was welcomed to the ground with a huge roar - which was heartening to see after the midfielder opened up about going through 'hell' after being jeered by his own fans at Barcelona.
#4 Chelsea showed heart but heart doesn't win much else
Between the first two goals that were scored in the 3rd and the 19th minute, Chelsea looked like they could actually do the unthinkable and bully Barcelona at the Camp Nou. In fact, they hit the woodwork twice on the night, a repeat of what happened at Stamford Bridge.
The game was way more competitive than the final scoreline suggests and you'd wonder what exactly they were playing at when they visited Etihad, a couple of weeks back.
This Chelsea team has the quality to take the game to the opposition. Willian was all about the lungs and the legs as he made a habit of breaking away from Chelsea's defensive half and motoring into the final third while being ably supported by the industry of Moses and Alonso on either flank as well as the mojo of Eden Hazard in the centre.
But for all the possession they had and the hardwork they put in, they couldn't put the ball into the back of the net and in fact, couldn't give ter Stegen the yips except for when they were denied by the woodwork.
Heart needs to be supplemented by quality or you might end up sitting in the locker room complaining about the unfairness of scorelines and the cruelty of God's plans.
#3 Vintage Barcelona and the promise of youth
Even when Chelsea tried to gain control of the game, Barcelona would steal the ball off them, switch to third gear, pass the ball around, and on occasion try to take the mickey out of them with some eye-catching backheels and flicks.
This was enabled by the sheer quality on offer as Chelsea did not sit back and let Barcelona run the show as opposed to what Manchester United did in a pedestrian performance against Sevilla just last night.
The defenders were solid and even though Chelsea used Olivier Giroud's physical capabilities to bounce off him to good effect, Pique and Umtiti never shied away from hurling themselves around and putting their body on the line to prevent Chelsea from getting a goal.
Marcos Alonso had the chance to go-on at goal from inside the box on 3 to 4 separate occasions, but Barcelona made sure he only ever tested ter Stegen once.
Ousmane Dembele, the boy who they paid the big bucks for, is starting to justify his price tag and did not for once look off the pace as he went forward and tracked backed with equal intent.
In Dembele, Umtiti, Roberto and Coutinho (who missed out on account of being cup-tied), Barcelona seem to have got the right quantity of youth to mix with the experience in their ranks and looks like this ship will definitely stay afloat, surviving whatever storm hits them in the future.
#2 Lack of quality at either end of the pitch cost Chelsea dearly
Eden Hazard, Willian, Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso- all forayed into the final third multiple times and surveyed for gaps to exploit and spaces to motor into, but the end product was gravely lacking in quality.
Even Kante showed quick feet and slalomed into the box after flitting past Pique and Roberto but his finishing was substandard. That really summed up the night for Chelsea. They created so many chances but hardly made ter Stegen do any work on the night.
Chelsea will say that they should have won a penalty when Alonso was pushed to the ground by Pique but it was one of those decisions that could have gone either way and it wouldn't have had much of an effect on the game anyway.
Though Olivier Giroud's qualities are helping Chelsea at this point in time, the fact that they miss a striker like Diego Costa is as evident as the noses on their faces.
But what's even more appalling is the service offered by their trusted no. 1 Thibaut Courtois. A man who was tipped to become one of the world's best goalkeepers is starting to become a frustrating figure among the Stamford Bridge faithful.
He was nutmegged twice on the night by Leo Messi. If the second one was pardonable, the first one was anything but. Messi scored the first goal from the acutest of angles with his right foot and it went through Courtois' legs like nobody was watching.
Courtois could have done better with Dembele's goal as he got a hand to the shot but it wasn't strong enough to keep it out. If that wasn't enough, he took far too much time to clear the ball at one point and gifted the ball straight to Luis Suarez who was waiting outside the box.
Thankfully for him, Suarez wasn't at his lethal best on the night and took a rather tame shot which was aimed straight back at him.
Courtois' only decent moment of the night came when he denied Paulinho a goal off a corner with a quick reflex save. The Belgian looked iffy throughout the night and with his commitment to the club being questioned on a daily basis now, he did no favours to himself at the Camp Nou.
#1 Lionel Messi- Ain't no hex that the sorcerer can't wreck
It is just plain criminal, mate. It is not even funny anymore. We need to get geared up and we need to get this man in a lab. Or get him in a room. Bring the plyers and the tweezers and the whole lot because Leo Messi has some explanation to provide.
Jokes aside, when you come to Barcelona, there are two golden rules you gotta follow to the T. The first is that you do not afford Lionel Messi an inch of space.
The second rule is that you DO NOT AFFORD...
What was that again? Not scored against Chelsea in 8 meetings or something? Good, tell him that. Tell him about all the things that he can't do so that he can make a list and strike em out one by one and laugh at all of us and look absolutely adorable while doing it.
This was just vintage Lionel Messi. Doing the unthinkable, nutmegging Courtois from 8 yards away with a sweet strike with his right foot. He then rocketed past Christensen and Alonso before drawing the bloody lot of them in towards him only to square one to Dembele to set him up with all the time and space in the world so the youngster could cherish the night too.
Even Messi's 2nd goal of the night was down to his incredible movement, both off the ball and on it, as he whizzed into the box with a swoosh-shaped trail before once again poking mullock at Courtois with yet another shot through the legs.
It was he who was the difference between the two sides across both legs. He was directly involved in all 4 goals scored by Barcelona- scoring 3 and setting up 1- as they won the tie with an aggregate score of 4-1.
It's not always entirely true but then tonight it could have just been one of those (not so rare) 'Stop Messi, stop Barcelona' nights.
I can't even...
