Chelsea struggling to live up to last season

Manager
Antonio Conte.

How they qualified
Chelsea triumphed only three times and two of those victories were against Qarabag, but Michy Batshuayi's last-gasp winner at Atletico Madrid proved decisive. Being outplayed twice by Roma does not bode well for the Barcelona tie.

Results and fixtures

Premier League standings

Transfer action
Diego Costa officially departed for Atletico Madrid, while Conte also got rid of the unwanted Batshuayi and Kenedy. A search for a tall striker got crazy with some bizarre names linked before Olivier Giroud was shrewdly signed from Arsenal. Injury-hit pair Ross Barkley and Emerson Palmieri were also added to a thin squad.

Last-16 first leg
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1
Willian gave Chelsea the lead with a lovely curling shot but Lionel Messi scored his first goal against Chelsea in eight attempts to level up the scores heading to Camp Nou.

Prospects
If Chelsea get past Barca they will begin to believe but that's a big if as the Premier League champions have failed to hit last season's heights.

Mark Langdon picks the Champions League winner

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