Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas reveals Messi has gone quiet

‘I Speak to some of them nearly every day,’ Cesc Fabregas says of his friends back at Barcelona, the club he grew up at and spent nine years with, across two spells.

Now though, it’s a little different: ‘Probably now, we speak less — maybe because of the game.’

Chelsea believe they are back in their winning, no-fear, against-the-odds mindset ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg tie, and nothing comes in the way of that.

Cesc Fabregas is close friends with Barcelona star Lionel Messi but the pair will be opponents

CESC FABREGAS’ BARCELONA CAREER

1997-2003: Academy player

2011-2014: 151 appearances, 42 goals, 57 assists

Trophies won: La Liga (2013), Copa Del Rey (2012), Supercopa de Espana (2011, 2013), UEFA Super Cup (2011), FIFA Club World Cup (2011)  

Manager Antonio Conte has been drilling his players on Barcelona for a month. Perhaps that distraction hindered them in embarrassing defeats by Bournemouth and Watford but having beaten West Brom and Hull City Chelsea are confident again.

Conte says Barcelona have weaknesses to exploit. Fabregas, too, sees space to ‘hurt’ his former club.

This tie is special for the midfielder, who sandwiched his time at Arsenal with his two Nou Camp spells. He is still very close with Lionel Messi — they holiday together — and is in regular contact with the likes of Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique.

‘It’s my hometown, it’s the club I supported for all my life,’ Fabregas says. ‘In that way, yes, it will be emotional. But once you step into the pitch, that just goes away. I did it with Arsenal. 

On Tuesday Fabregas is hoping to get the better of Barcelona, the club where he grew up

On Tuesday Fabregas is hoping to get the better of Barcelona, the club where he grew up

‘It’s a massive night for the players, for the club, for English football in general, so hopefully we can do well and give a good image of what we can do.

‘Barcelona are still a great side. They try to put the first pressure very high, always work towards the ball. But if we can past this first phase and not put ourselves under too much pressure then I think that we can hurt them.

‘They will leave a lot of spaces at the back. We have three days to work on the game and I’m sure the manager will find the best solution.’

Antonio Conte is determined for his Chelsea side to prevail after a difficult month domestically

Antonio Conte is determined for his Chelsea side to prevail after a difficult month domestically

Conte rested Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and a host of his other stars in the straightforward FA Cup fifth-round win over Hull City on Friday night and will also welcome Marcos Alonso back from injury.

That will allow him to play his first-choice XI, who have stood through intense tactical sessions focused solely on Barcelona in recent weeks.

If the Italian is to leave Chelsea at the end of the season as expected, this game provides him an opportunity for an extravagant exit.

‘We are speaking about one of the best teams in the world,’ Conte says of Barcelona. ‘We have to try to have the perfect game and to try to make the best decision also for this type of team.

‘This is a different opponent. They have a fantastic characteristic with the ball, they can have a weakness without the ball and we must try to exploit this.’

Chelsea face a very difficult task in attempting to overcome the Spanish giants in the last 16

Chelsea face a very difficult task in attempting to overcome the Spanish giants in the last 16

Chelsea, more than anyone else, are the team the Spanish league leaders hate to play. They admitted as much after their epic last meeting: the 2012 semi-final when Fernando Torres famously rounded Victor Valdes in the Nou Camp.

Messi cried in the dressing room that night. Fabregas played for Barcelona and the only Chelsea player still around is captain Gary Cahill who was substituted after 12 minutes, injured.

Conte, then, won’t look back on this tie’s history — even as he looks to keep up a record which has seen Messi fail to score against Chelsea in his eight games against them.

‘I think that the past is not important,’ he says. ‘I hope that we maintain this tradition but we are speaking about a fantastic player. We must have great respect but at the same time we must be excited to play this type of game and take on this type of challenge.’ 

 



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