Barcelona vs. Chelsea: Blues Will Need Perfection to Move Past Catalans

Chelsea comes into the Camp Nou with a bit of a cushion, but they will need far more to get past Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal. 

We are nearly a week away from a magical turn at Stamford Bridge, where the ball seemed to be disinterested in helping Barcelona find the net. 

While the Catalans controlled the pace and struck some very dangerous balls into the box, they were turned away with a rare clean sheet, something that Chelsea can hardly guarantee in Tuesday's match. 

If Chelsea's win in the first leg was improbable, they will now have to pull off the impossible with an even better performance in Barcelona. 

Chelsea is still a very dangerous team, something we had all but forgotten prior to a raucous opening salvo. They have the weapons to give the Barca back line headaches, which they proved last week. 

However, the Catalans still had some obvious chances that, if those chances repeat themselves, would have Tuesday's match feature a far different complexion. 

The remarkable aspect is that Barcelona can surely duplicate the possession discrepancy that saw them possess the ball close to 80 percent of the time. 

The Catalans are a known quantity. They like to control the ball and pick their spots to attack, making Chelsea settle for counter-attack sensibilities. 

While it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Barcelona wins possession again, we can hardly expect them to miss out on so many opportunities without finding the net. 

After losing their fixture to Real Madrid this past weekend, Barcelona needs this victory on Tuesday to save the season from disaster. 

They have been pegged for months as arguably the most sound side in the world, but they could lose any hope for La Liga or Champions League glory in the span of a few days. 

That desire and pressure will have Barcelona on a frantic pace, and players like Lionel Messi will be locked in for the entire match. 

All of that is to say Chelsea will be hit with an invigorated side, and that could spell trouble for the Blues. 

Didier Drogba is ailing, and the next best thing in the box, Fernando Torres, is no guarantee for positive production. 

Chelsea can surely move past Camp Nou and move towards Allianz Arena, but it will take the game of a year to get there. 

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