Chelsea star Willian warns Barcelona after Hull FA Cup win: The Blues are back

CHELSEA star Willian tamed the Tigers and then warned Barcelona: The Blues are back.

Posted Saturday, February 17, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Chelsea star Willian warns Barcelona after Hull FA Cup win: The Blues are back
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was happy with his team's win over Hull

Chelsea have been stuck in a rut of late amid talk Antonio Conte is set to leave his post at the end of the season.

But in the FA Cup, the Blues may have found a way to ensure their under-pressure manager departs on a high.

Chelsea were too strong for Hull, running the Tigers ragged with Willian scoring twice on a fruitful night at Stamford Bridge.

There was also a goal for Olivier Giroud, his first since signing from Arsenal last month, with Pedro also getting on the scoresheet.

Pedro, especially, will no doubt hope to face Barcelona when the two teams do battle in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Barcelona have been in outstanding form and will travel to west London still unbeaten in La Liga under new boss Ernesto Valverde.

Willian, though, is undeterred.

And the Brazil international has warned Barcelona that Chelsea have overcome their blip - in the nick of time.

"It was a great game, not only by me but the whole team," the wing wizard said after the game.

"The hat-trick was almost there, I tried, but the most important thing was the win.

"After a difficult moment we are back to winning games. When you are winning games the confidence goes high. Now we have to carry on."

Giroud was also happy after the final whistle.

"I was waiting for it [a first goal]. I had a couple of chances in previous games," he said.

"It was important for me to score my first goal. It's relieved me a little bit.

"We can see the team had a good team cohesion. It was important to bounce back after some disappointing results.

"This confidence is very important to carry on like that. We need momentum. Everything is going in the right way.

"We’re very pleased with our last two games so let’s carry on.”

Chelsea star Willian warns Barcelona after Hull FA Cup win: The Blues are back
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was happy with his team's performance

Conte was also a happy man.

"Good game, good performance. It was great for us. The most important thing is that we are in the next round. Now we have to prepare for the game against Barcelona," he said.

"You hope to always have a game that you can dominate. Our start was impressive. We started with great focus and concentration, will to score and wanted to go to the next round. I’m really pleased with the commitment of my players.

"It was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest some important players. At the same time, I saw players in good form. I have different options. Now we have three days to make the best decision for the game against Barcelona.

"We lost two games at the end of a busy period. Now we have the right confidence again. But in the next two weeks we have to play massive games and we must be strong – Barcelona, United and City. We are ready.”