Here’s why Barca was unprepared for Chelsea on Tuesday
During the first half of the Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona, many fans and pundits took to Twitter to announce their disapproval of Antonio Conte’s tactical strategy. You didn’t need a computer to tell you that the hosts only controlled about 25% of possession in the first 45 minutes.
Even after the half ended with Chelsea leading in shot attempts; seven to Barcelona’s three, two posts drilled by Willian, and generally having much more dangerous opportunities, some people appeared dismayed by his unwillingness to play directly at Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.
To others, however, Willian’s stunning go-ahead goal in the second half came as no surprise. Despite ceding an overwhelming percentage of possession, Chelsea was able to contain the most explosive offense in the world for 90 minutes, and take focus on dangerous counterattacks.
Only a brain fart late in the second half led to Messi’s inevitable tying goal. It was not a breakdown of the system. The system worked perfectly, as Chelsea should be heading to Camp Nou with a lead; holding Barcelona scoreless, without an away goal. Even with Barcelona having an edge heading to Camp Nou, the 1-1 result should be considered a rousing success for Chelsea.
Many other managers would have allowed pride to override other factors and had Chelsea come out to attack Barcelona. Conte, however, swallowed his and played an incredibly smart tactical system which allowed Chelsea to leave Stamford Bridge with a result.
He realized that, despite Eden Hazard and other elite players, Chelsea doesn’t have what it takes to play directly at Barcelona; few teams do. That’s the sign of a great manager; one who knows his team’s limitations and how to mitigate them.