Barcelona gear up for Chelsea showdown

It’s the moment of truth for Barcelona and their treble tilt as they face Chelsea in the Champions League first leg semifinal on Tuesday and then a potential title decider at Real Madrid four days later.

HT Image

It’s the moment of truth for Barcelona and their treble tilt as they face Chelsea in the Champions League first leg semifinal on Tuesday and then a potential title decider at Real Madrid four days later.

Barcelona drew 2-2 at Valencia on Saturday and saw Real close to within four points at the top with a 4-2 win over Sevilla to set up an intriguing ‘El Clasico’ at the Santiago Bernabeu next Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side will have that on the brain but must put it on the back burner for now as they go in search of European glory taking on Chelsea at Camp Nou in the first leg of a testing Champions League semi-final.

“It was a tough game against Valencia and now we are ready for another big battle against Chelsea,” said Andres Iniesta.

“There are some difficult games left but that’s the way we’ll get to the end. We’re not giving up on anything because we’re in a privileged situation.

“As the coach says, we’ve still got the most incredible part of the season to come and we have to fight.” On the domestic front Barcelona have seen a 12-point lead cut to four and they face Real on Saturday.
Agencies