Barca’s terrifying trio threaten Chelsea

Ahead of the Champions League semi-final showdown this week, Barcelona’s triple attacking threat of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry have been described as a “world-class” front line by Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink. No wonder – Chelsea fans may want to look away now because the trio’s goalscoring stats this season are incredible.

Between them, Messi, Eto’o and Henry have amassed a terrifying 90 goals in all competitions as Pep Guardiola has unleashed a devastating assault on Spain and the rest of Europe. The figures are all the more compelling when you consider those three have hit 66 of the club’s total of 94 league goals so far and 16 of the Catalans’ 29 strikes in the Champions League. This makes this ‘unplayable’ triumvirate Barca’s best-ever forward line collectively so it’s no wonder they remain favourites to see off England’s finest in the remainder of this year’s competition. It’s shudder-inducing stuff indeed.
Barcelona bashed Bayern Munich in the quarter-final, 5-1 on aggregate, after racing into a 4-0 lead inside just 43 minutes of the first leg. No need to ask which players provided all those four goals either.

The problem Chelsea face, other than ensuring they’re still in the tie after Tuesday’s first leg at the Nou Camp, is that all three players are different in terms of style but all pose a huge goalscoring threat. Messi is the incomparable playmaker, all quick-feet often running from deep and linking the play with deft touches while Henry tends to operate out wide on the left these days but is still as devastating in front of goal as he was at Arsenal. Eto’o often does the dirty work for the other two, always chasing and harassing the opposition but his strength and killer instinct means he is just two goals behind Messi on 32 from 42 games in total this term. Not bad for a player who probably would have left if another club had stumped up Barca’s asking price of £25m-plus last summer.

So, how do Chelsea cope in the semi-final? Well, by not reading the football stats for a start.

Aidan Perkins is a sports journalist who writes regularly for Betfair.