‘It takes 11 to stop Messi’

Chelsea’s Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero may not feature in the final 11 when Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge on February 21, but the back-up keeper had some words of advice on how to stop his compatriot Lionel Messi.

For Caballero, stopping Messi is a job for the whole team and not just the goalkeeper and a few markers. Messi has the uncanny ability to pick apart teams who do not organize themselves well enough. His vision means that he can pick passes from the deep to create goal-scoring chances while his dribbling his always a worry for defences.

"He's unpredictable. When you are watching a game on TV the commentator might say, 'He's going to do this or that' but the reality is he is capable of doing things even better or faster or more unpredictable than people think,” the 36-year old Argentine insisted.

"It is very hard work to control him but it doesn't come down to a goalkeeper but the whole team. It is the coach who will decide how to plan for the game."

Chelsea got back renewed confidence after winning their last two matches as under fire manager Antonio Conte look to prepare them for two tough knock out round matches against Barcelona, who go into the game as favourites. Caballero implied that having former Barcelona players in the team allows them to understand the Catalans more.

“Moreover, having players like Pedro or Cesc [Fabregas] who have played there [at Barcelona] we don't need to discuss too much their style.

Caballero was on the winning side when Manchester City beat Barcelona last season at the Champions League and he suggested that he could advice his teammates regarding Messi and company.

"It's just a memory [beating Barca with Man City] and for sure I will be on the bench come Tuesday so maybe I can tell them what it's like to beat Barca,” he concluded.