MX23RW : Friday, October 4 03:39:14| >> :120:22565:22565:
[monks data]
Attendance: 97,183
Barcelona logo
Champions League | Round of 16
Mar 14, 2018 at 7.45pm UK
 
Chelsea logo

3-0

Messi (3', 63'), Dembele (20')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Carles Puyol wary of Chelsea's counter-attacking threat

Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol warns his side to be wary of Chelsea's counter-attack during the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Camp Nou.

Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has warned his side that they will need to be at their best if they are to beat Chelsea to a place in the Champions League quarter-finals this evening.

Chelsea will travel to Camp Nou hoping for a repeat of their 2012 heroics, when they recorded a memorable 2-2 draw with 10 men in the second leg of their semi-final, en route to lifting the trophy for the first time.

Antonio Conte's side are once again the underdogs having been held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, but Puyol is wary of the threat Chelsea pose on the counter-attack.

"After the first leg, I think Barcelona are the favourites but you can't be sure. Chelsea have shown that they are a very organised team with clear ideas about how they want to play and players up front who are very dangerous and very quick," he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.

"They can hurt you a lot on the counter-attack, so Barcelona will have to put in a serious performance and try to score a goal because if they don't Chelsea could hurt them on the counter.

"The difference (from the 2012 clash) is that we lost 1-0 in London so we had to win. We went out to attack and were 2-0 up, after that they made it 2-1. We did all we could to score another goal but Fernando [Torres] scored the second on the counter-attack and eliminated us.

"Now, I think Chelsea will play a similar game: very strong in defence and look for counter-attacks. For Barcelona, the advantage they have is that with the 1-1 draw they will go through with a 0-0."

Barcelona are bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for an unprecedented 11th season in a row.

ID:320902: cacheID:320902:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2878:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Olivier Giroud in action during the Premier League game between Chelsea and Crystal Palace on March 10, 2018
Read Next:
How Chelsea could line up against Barca
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Buccaneers
@
Falcons
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Dortmund22006
2B. Leverkusen22006
3Benfica22006
4Brest22006
5Aston Villa22006
6Liverpool22006
7Juventus22006
8Inter Milan21104
9Man City21104
10Atalanta21104
11Arsenal21104
12Sparta Prague21104
13Sporting Lisbon21104
14Monaco21104
15Lille21013
16Bayern21013
17Barcelona21013
18Real Madrid21013
19PSG21013
20Celtic21013
21Brugge21013
22Atletico21013
23Feyenoord21013
24Bologna20111
25Shakhtar20111
26PSV20111
27Stuttgart20111
28Dinamo Zagreb20111
29Girona20020
30RB Leipzig20020
31Sturm Graz20020
32AC Milan20020
33Red Star20020
34Salzburg20020
35Slovan Bratislava20020
36Young Boys20020


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!