Chelsea vs. Barcelona: Why David Luiz Is the Only Man Who Can Stop Lionel Messi

If Chelsea have any hope of defeating Barcelona, David Luiz will need to shut down Lionel Messi.

In fact, Luiz is the only player that can shut down the Argentine.

Chelsea are the overwhelming underdogs against the Catalans and for good reason. Barcelona have been the best team in the world for nearly five years now, and Chelsea have been inconsistent this season.

The most dangerous player on Barca, and in the world, is obviously Messi. In order to contain him, Chelsea will need Luiz to play out of his mind. If Luiz can't slow down Messi, Chelsea do not have a chance.

Moreover, Luiz must be the one to stop Messi because he's the only one on Chelsea's roster capable.

John Terry has lost some pace, and he relies on intelligence and strength to sustain his play. He's not capable of playing the way he once did, which is fine.

In addition to his lack of pace, though, Terry is playing with two cracked ribs. This injury will affect his fitness, and it will prevent him from playing an effective 90 minutes.

Regardless of who plays wing back, he will not be able to even remotely contain Messi. Ryan Bertrand, Jose Bosingwa, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic all have a chance of playing Barca. Unfortunately for the Blues, none of them have the pace, strength and/or intelligence to contain the world's best player.

Petr Cech is the last man standing behind Chelsea's line of defense. While he is still an elite goalkeeper, he simply can't stop Messi. The Argentine will most likely end up one-on-one with Cech, and he will chip the helpless keeper.

Cech could have a great game, but he simply won't be able to stop Messi when it's just the two of them. Accordingly, Cech isn't the man to stop Messi.

And that leads us to Luiz.

I've already dubbed him the coolest defender in the world, and now he has the chance to be considered one of the best defenders in the world. If he could contain Messi for both legs, Luiz would be an instant hero.

Luiz has the size, strength and pace to keep up with him. More importantly, he has the fitness to keep running and running and running.

Real Madrid (as well as most other teams) have trouble keeping up with Barcelona's style for a full 90 minutes. If Chelsea want to have a chance, Luiz must play the full 90 minutes of each match. If he can be an effective defender on Messi for most of each match, the Blues have a fighting chance.

Terry is too old and injured. The outside backs are seemingly worthless. Cech won't stand a chance in a one-on-one situation.

Therefore, Luiz is the only man Chelsea have that has the ability to stop Messi.

It's a long shot, but it's definitely possible.