Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard has revealed only Chelsea player that can hold Lionel Messi as the Blues tackle Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening.
He said French midfielder N’Golo Kante holds the key for Chelsea to stop Messi.
He said Kante, a former Premier League Player of the Year, is “the one” Chelsea midfielder who has the ability to trouble Messi.
Lampard rates Messi, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, as the greatest player of all time and admits his former club will need luck to stop him in his tracks.
He told the Evening Standard, “Whoever is nearest to him has to take the responsibility to take that space because the minute you let him get his head up and run freely at you, you won’t get near him.
“I can say that from experience. There will be periods when you just have to back off. The problem is that being at home, there will be people wanting to see Chelsea have a bit of a go at them.
“But their players are that good, you have to back off to deny them the space where they can really hurt you.
“It is a fine line for Chelsea. They need to sit back but at the same time put pressure on him so he doesn’t become relaxed on the ball.
“This is where I think N’Golo Kante will be key. He is the one in Chelsea’s midfield with the abilities you need because he is so quick into the tackle.
“But it is important all 11 press their opponents, starting with those players at the top of the pitch.
“We have players in our team who like the ball and when we have the ball, we need to play our own football and try to score goals, because the first game is at the Bridge in front of our own fans. ‘
“We know it is tough to beat Chelsea and we are in a good position.”
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