Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says he has suffered sleepless nights plotting the downfall of Barcelona and Lionel Messi.
The Blues host the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against the Catalan giants at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday looking to maintain their impressive record against Messi’s men.
Barcelona’s history against Chelsea is best summed up by their semi-final meeting in this competition in 2012 when they surrendered a two-goal lead to crash out at the Nou Camp as Roberto Di Matteo’s side went on to lift the Champions League for the first time.
We have to know that, during the game, we must be prepared to suffer.
But, despite a league win over rock-bottom West Brom and FA Cup progression at the expense of Championship strugglers Hull, Chelsea still head into this heavyweight contest having won just four of their last 12 games in all competitions.
That has led to intense scrutiny on Conte’s position, despite the fact the Italian led Chelsea to the Premier League title last season.
Following the 4-0 win over Hull on Friday night, Conte admitted he has been kept awake planning how to beat the free-flowing LaLiga leaders.
“In these days after the game in the FA Cup, I must be honest, it was a bit difficult to sleep well,” he said.
“When you have to play this type of game, you have to prepare. You have to prepare everything. You have to prepare big things, but the smaller details too.
“They can move a result a lot of the time. We have an idea. We have a plan in our heads. I think that, in this specific moment, it’s very important to pick the players who are at the top of their form and then try and do our best to win the game.”
All eyes will be on Messi as the Barcelona talisman looks to score his first goal against Chelsea, having drawn a blank in his previous eight outings in this fixture.
Conte knows it will be difficult to keep Messi quiet.
“We are talking about the best player in the world,” he said when asked about a plan to cope with the Argentina ace.
“Messi has the capacity to solve the situation and create a chance when you are not seeing the chance to score.
“We are talking about a fantastic player. We have to pay great attention, but not only to Messi.
“We have to know that, during the game, we must be prepared to suffer. But, at the same time, we must have the idea to go and score at any moment.”
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