Chelsea star reveals what went wrong against Barcelona

Messi also set up Ousmane Dembele in a 3-0 win at Camp Nou after he had scored Barcelona’s goal in the opening-leg 1-1 draw in London.

By the end, the Argentine’s scintillating breakaway in the build-up to Dembele’s first Barcelona goal had become little more than a footnote to what was another Messi masterclass.

The Blues legend told BT Sport after a 3-0 Messi-inspired victory for Barcelona over Antonio Conte’s side on Wednesday: “Willian was basically at the middle of everything good that they [Chelsea] did”.

Since then it has been a familiar tale, though, as the five-time Ballon d’Or victor has 13 goals in 16 La Liga outings against Athletic, while also punishing them more often than not in cup competitions – nine goals in 11, including a brace in the 2014-15 Copa del Rey final.

“I think there have been a lot of positives in both games against Barcelona and I think we have to show this desire in the next games”, Alonso said.

It is a pity but I must be very proud of the commitment of my players.

“I do not want a Spanish team, because we know each other too much”, Iniesta said, with clubs at this stage no longer protected from facing others from the same country.

This was the same story in the Chelsea’s two-legged Champions League round-of-16 tie against Barcelona.

The report claims that the Chelsea attacker is yet to commit his future to the club despite them willing to make him their best paid player with a £300,000-a-week deal.

But even if Conte did manage to crack the top four, he may even need more to convince Roman Abramovich to keep him in the hot seat. “It’s also crucial to have all your important players”. Only Messi (5) was dispossessed more times than Willian (4).

Barcelona, who are heavy favourites to clinch this year’s continental crown after missing out on the last two seasons, join Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool, AS Roma, Sevilla and Juventus in the last-eight.