Chelsea need to have their eyes elsewhere rather than concentrating on Lionel Messi when Barcelona visit on Tuesday night, according to former manager Ruud Gullit.
Messi is the understandable centre of attention at Stamford Bridge as he looks to score his first goal against the Premier League champions after eight previous meetings without notching.
But Chelsea would be foolish to focus on the Argentine No 10 – and doing so could cost them, Gullit says.
Lionel Messi is looking to score his first goal against Chelsea for Barcelona on Tuesday night
Chelsea legend Ruud Gullit says the Blues need to keep an eye on Barcelona’s other stars
‘You don’t stop Messi, you don’t stop him. That’s not the point,’ the Dutch legend told Sportsmail.
‘The point is, when he’s got the ball, to keep an eye on the people running. They run and they cut in very fast – that’s what you need to do. That’s key.’
The former Sampdoria and AC Milan man added: ‘Chelsea have always been organised – Antonio Conte’s an Italian, and I know the Italians well.
‘For them that is the most important thing: first defence and then attacking.’
Chelsea are outsiders in this tie, and to make further progress in the Champions League, after their failure to defend their domestic title and a series of blips in their form this season.
But Gullit, who played at Stamford Bridge for three years in the late 1990s, says they will back themselves in a role as underdogs – just as they did to win the competition in 2012.
Dutch legend Gullit celebrates winning the FA Cup with Chelsea at Wembley in 1997
Gullit, 55, was on the pitch that night, celebrating with the players as Chelsea won their first European crown.
‘They are not favourites but when they won the Champions League nobody thought they could do it. For that reason, you never know,’ he said.
‘Chelsea are not, if you look on paper, not the best team of the Champions League but they have unbelievable characters and some good individual players who can decide the game.
‘If they keep it to a team performance they can actually go far. They’re not the favourites but that can also be a plus for them.’
Ruud Gullit recently launched Team Gullit, a FIFA esports academy designed to help, educate and nurture up and coming stars.
He will be delivering the keynote speech at the Esports Insider Super Forum (March 22), part of this year’s Betting on Football conference (March 20-23) at Stamford Bridge. Visitwww.sbcevents.com for more details on tickets and the event.