Will the Catalan "Tiger" rise again?
Barca is like a seriously wounded tiger after losing 1-2 to Real Madrid. Early tomorrow morning, April 25, Barca will collapse if they do not beat Chelsea at home at Nou Camp in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
For Barca, beating Chelsea by two or three goals is not too difficult, especially when they play at home. The problem is that the Catalan "tiger" is seriously injured after losing to "big rival" Real Madrid in the decisive match for the La Liga championship (Spanish Championship), so it is difficult to predict how they will play. The situation is even more difficult because Barca lost 0-1 to Chelsea in the first leg in England. If Chelsea scores another goal at the Nou Camp, they will have to score three goals, Chelsea scores two goals, they will have to score four goals...
Will Messi (middle) help Barcelona overcome difficulties? - Photo: Reuters
Watching the match between Barca and RM, we can see that the Catalan “tiger” was really tired, leading to players often passing to the wrong address, and the tiqui-taka style of play was not smooth. In particular, Argentine striker Lionel Messi was really overloaded due to having to play 54 matches since the beginning of the tournament, so he lacked the ability to break through at full speed, as well as the ability to “juggle” with the ball. Vice-captain Xavi was also exhausted after having to play a total of 47 matches, and in the match against RM, this midfielder played so badly that he was replaced midway.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted that Barca were running out of steam: “A lot of Chelsea players had a rest to recover from last weekend’s match, while we had to work hard to play against Real Madrid. What we need to do now is try to take advantage of the rest time to recover our fitness and be ready for the match against Chelsea.”
In addition to the physical factor, Barcelona's defense also continuously revealed fatal flaws: center back Carlos Puyol appeared old and slow, Adriano Correia had many moments of lack of concentration while Daniel Alves was too eager to attack. If these weaknesses were not overcome in time, Barcelona would pay a heavy price.
On the contrary, Chelsea are playing very well under coach Di Matteo with 10 wins and only one loss in 14 consecutive matches. Entering this match, Chelsea is very energetic when up to eight key players were rested in the match against Arsenal last weekend. Chelsea's strongest point at this time is the high determination and desire to win. In particular, Chelsea's defense has been reinforced with the central defender pair John Terry and Gary Cahill covering each other very well. In the last five matches when these two players played together, Chelsea only conceded one goal. Not to mention, goalkeeper Petr Cech is also playing more and more safely and he himself made many spectacular saves for Chelsea in the first leg.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger predicts Chelsea will reach the final. He commented in the Guardian (UK): "I have watched Barcelona's recent matches and found their finishing quite poor. Messi has shown signs of fatigue although he is still very dangerous. If Chelsea continue to play good defense like in recent matches, they will have a chance to reach the final."
According to Tuoi Tre
