Chelsea stars board Barcelona-bound bus and plane full of smiles despite daunting clash with Lionel Messi and Co.
Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2018 by Thesun.co.uk
CHELSEA stars looked full of beans as they boarded buses and planes to make the daunting trip to Barcelona where they will discover their Champions League fate.
With Manchester City running away with the Premier League title and Tottenham and Liverpool pulling away in the top-four race, Antonio Conte looks vulnerable - but his players look relaxed.
Emerson Palmieri and Willian look excited about their trip to the Nou Camp
After playing well in the first leg, at their Stamford Bridge home, the Blues probably do have reasons to be cheerful.
But Lionel Messi had a weekend off - for the birth of his baby son - so will coming into the match in peak condition.
And under-pressure Conte has already explained what his side has to do to make the quarter-finals of the tournament.
He said: "It's important to understand that we must be prepared to suffer, if we play with Hazard as No. 9 or if we play with Giroud or Morata as No. 9 and Hazard as No. 10.
Eden Hazard refused photobombed a picture as the Chelsea stars prepared for take-off to Spain
"We must be very good but when you play against this type of team, which I think is one of the best in the world, you must be prepared to suffer, in the same way we did in the first leg, where I think we were almost perfect.
"This is not a [Chelsea] team with great experience, we have a lot of players who are playing their first or second season in the Champions League.
Chelsea face a tiugh task trying to keep Barcelona quiet for another 90 minutes
But we have to work as a team and try to be ready to suffer the moments we have to suffer, and in every moment we have to know that we can have a chance to score."
"We need to repeat the game we played at Stamford Bridge and to try to exploit the chances to score."
And Chelsea legend Frank Lampard used his Evening Standard column to point to Morata's £58million pricetag and the need for him to shine.
Lampard said: "It is for big occasions like this that Chelsea bought Morata from Real Madrid for £58m last summer in the first place.
"There is obviously a question over whether coach Antonio Conte will play with a striker or revert back to the false nine he used in the first leg.
I would certainly consider picking Morata to lead the line with Eden Hazard and Willian behind.
"The striker has to play better than he has done in recent weeks.
"He needs to be physically stronger and hold the ball up more. He has the physical attributes and technical ability to do this."
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