Chelsea squad heading to Barcelona
The Chelsea squad have embarked on a journey to Barcelona on
Tuesday afternoon ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Nou
Camp, Dailymail Sports reports.
Antonio Conte 's men began their trip from the club's Cobham
training base as they were filmed by Chelsea's Twitter boarding the team
coach ahead of Wednesday's game.
Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas led the way as they were seen
boarding the club coach, along with captain Gary Cahill and goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois.
After battling out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge at
the end of February, the last-16 tie hangs in the balance with Chelsea
looking to keep up their chase for a piece of silverware this season.
Chelsea are now four points adrift of the fourth and final
Champions League spot, behind Liverpool, and are in danger of missing
out on the competition for the second time in three seasons.
The Blues will not abandon all hope just yet though, having put on
an admirable display in the reverse fixture, and will be clinging onto
previous triumphs over Barca for encouragement.
In 2012, their only Champions League triumph, then-caretaker
manager Roberto di Matteo led Chelsea to a historic victory against all
the odds to knock Wednesday's opponents out in the semi-finals before
beating Bayern Munich in the subsequent final.
Travelling Blues supporters will also hope Willian can reproduce
the form he showed at the Bridge after his goal gave Conte's men a
first-half lead - before Lionel Messi equalised for the visitors late
on.
Willian, who could have easily had a hat-trick on the night after
striking the post twice, travelled with the squad and is expected to
start against Valverde's Barca side.
Ahead of the clash, Willian told Chelsea's official magazine that
his love for football is still his motivation, which is fuelling his
performances.
He said: 'I think you have to enjoy yourself on the pitch. To
play football, you have to be happy. I have to enjoy this moment now.
When you start to play more games, or when you play every match, you
have confidence and things are good for you, then you can keep smiling.
'I spent a long time practising tricks when I was young and my
favourite was the elastico, which I try to do during games even now. I
played like an attacker. I always wanted to attack, to have the ball, to
dribble and score goals.'
Given his recent form, scoring two in his last three Premier League
games and not to mention his performance in the first leg, selecting
Willian should be a no-brainer for Conte.
However, the Italian boss will have been tossing and turning in bed
in the build up to this season-defining match over who will lead his
attacking line.
Having trialled Hazard as a No 9, and discovering it's far from his
most effective position, Conte has Giroud or out-of-favour and
out-of-form Alvaro Morata to choose from. Both bring different benefits
to Conte's side, with Giroud's direct approach, as opposed to the
clinical finishing of Morata.
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