WILLIAN, IT WAS NEARLY SOMETHING
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea very nearly did a number on Barcelona. The Catalan giants aren’t quite what they were, so the Londoners were more than happy to let them amble about in midfield for ages achieving the square root of chuff all, before letting Willian run at them at high speed and with great purpose quite a lot. After bothering the frame of the goal twice in the first half, the Brazilian eventually got the break he deserved in the second, Conte’s rope-a-dope tactics working like a dream. But Lionel Messi got his team out of jail by latching on to an uncharacteristic defensive error, finally adding his name to the elite list of players who have scored a goal for Barça against Chelsea in Big Cup, joining greats such as Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Plain Old John Terry. Hey, the wee man doesn’t at all look out of place in that exalted company, does he? But then he is one of the best 50 players of all time, probably, at least post-war, so in fairness that’s to be expected. We digress.
But on balance it was a satisfactory night for Conte. Partly because before the match Barça were expected to do a bit more than bore everyone bar stubborn hipsters rigid; but mainly because Chelsea’s fine display allowed him to be a little bit more expressive in the post-match presser than he could have been had Messi and co channelled their inner Bournemouth and forced Thibaut Courtois into making more than one save. “We were close to playing the perfect performance,” he smiled, constructing a platform from which to launch a salvo at his own board. “I’m happy here but to move forward with the marriage, everyone needs to be in agreement. If something were to change, there would be several different scenarios opening up.” He then added the observation that football managers “always have a bag packed” in their line of work, almost certainly the only thing he’s said in the last 18 months with which José Mourinho, long-term resident of the Lowry Hotel and habitual collector of trophies and toiletries, would readily agree.
Some cynics have suggested Conte is doing his level best to goad the Chelsea board into some sort of action. The purchase of some new players in the next transfer window, perhaps, or maybe increased remuneration. He certainly wouldn’t want to be catapulted into a job market where the only possible positions opening up were with Real Madrid, PSG, Milan, Internazionale and the Italian national team. But one man can’t change the way of the world. “In 14 years, Chelsea have changed coach 10 times, so they do have a tendency to chop and change,” he sighed and shrugged, fiddling idly with the zip of his holdall and looking repeatedly at his watch.
So will Conte suffer the same fate as his fellow countryman Claudio Ranieri almost 12 months ago to the day, and be shown the door as a reigning Premier League champion midway through Big Cup’s round of 16? Well, let’s face it, we’re not quite at that point yet. But whether Chelsea prevail at Camp Nou in three weeks’ time like they did in 2012, causing Conte’s stock to rise even further, or crash out miserably, causing mild pangs of irritation in the Chelsea boardroom, his post-match press conference will certainly be worth decoding. It won’t take a genius.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We are trying to get some stuff down on a CD – that would be awesome. Whatever I’ve achieved in football, if I could have a CD with a few songs, that would be as big as that” – Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth gets his chat on with Ben Fisher about switching from ‘Gaz’ to gaffer and juggling band practice with being the fourth-longest-serving League boss.
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THE RECAP
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BITS AND BOBS
Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella hopes reading up on José Mourinho will help his team against Manchester United. “He is a pioneer in training methodology, he was different,” Montella swooned. “I’ve read a lot about tactical periodisation.”
David Ospina has bagged himself the No 1 jersey for Arsenal’s Milk Cup final with Manchester City on Sunday. “We have been clear since the start of the season that he plays in the whole competition,” cheered Arsène Wenger.
West Ham have been charged with a breach of anti-doping rules after allegedly failing to abide by FA “club whereabouts” regulations.
It goes from abysmal to much worse for Chris Coleman at Sunderland after defeat at Bolton left them bottom of the Championship. “We did everything but put the ball in the net,” he parped.
Breaking news at Grimsby: “[The] club can confirm there is no imminent announcement scheduled for the appointment of a new first-team manager.” Oh.
And Hartlepool have sacked boss Craig Harrison.
STILL WANT MORE?
From Banega to N’Zonzi, five swashbuckling Sevilla players Manchester United need to be wary of.
Disjointed, slow and vulnerable, and Jonathan Wilson’s only just getting started on Barcelona.
It was a night when Lionel Messi broke free of Chelsea’s shackles and a non-existent hoodoo, writes Barney Ronay.
How bloody good was Willian and what was Paulinho playing at? Dominic Fifield’s player ratings from Stamford Bridge.
What’s the longest acrostic spelled out in a football table? It can only be this week’s Knowledge.
Don’t believe everything you read about football on the internet, warns Neil Andrews.
The Crew want to move to Austin – but does Austin want the Crew? Tom Dart reports.
And Will Grigg is just about done playing catch-up from that night.
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