CHELSEA may have drawn Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16, but there is one huge positive for Blues fans.
Barca’s talismanic striker Lionel Messi has faced the West London side on eight occasions, but has never netted against the Premier League champions.
It is the 30-year-old’s worst scoring record against a single club of his career, but he has two games to finally get on the score sheet against Antonio Conte‘s men.
Messi has failed to find the back of the net in 29 shots – notably missing a penalty at the Nou Camp in the 2011/12 semi-final second leg.
Barcelona would eventually succumb to a 3-2 loss on aggregate, with Chelsea becoming the first London outfit to lift the Champions League after a penalty shootout win against Bayern Munich.
The Catalan club have a brilliant record against English competition in Europe in the knockout rounds – progressing from six of their last seven ties – with the only exception against Chelsea back in 2012.
Messi first came up against the Blues in the 2005/06 season, where he helped Barca to a 3-2 aggregate win in the last 16 en route to beating Arsenal in the final.
The two sides then face each other in the group stages the following campaign, with Chelsea beating the Spaniards 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a Didier Drogba strike, before drawing 2-2 in the return fixture.
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While they also met each other in the semi-finals of the 2008/09 season, with Barca sealing their passage into the final on away goals after a 93rd minute strike from Andres Iniesta.
Messi has been in inspired form for Ernesto Valverde’s men this year, as his side sit top of La Liga after going unbeaten in 15 games.
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He has netted 20 goals in all competitions this term – 14 in the Spanish top-flight – while he has also registered five assists.
Chelsea host Barcelona at the Bridge on February 20 for the first leg in a run of nightmare fixtures for Conte.
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