Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has revealed his side have given him a selection headache following their impressive form ahead of their Champions League tie with Barcelona.
The Blues thrashed Hull 4-0 in the FA Cup clash on Friday night, February 16 with in-form Willian grabbed a brace, whilst Pedro and Olivier Giroud also got on the scoresheet.
Several key names were rested including Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante.
In their place, Chelsea’s youth players came in, with Ethan Ampadu playing the full 90 minutes whilst Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kyle Scott came off the bench.
Antonio Conte side now have three days to prepare for their epic European clash with old rivals Barcelona.
But with a number of peripheral members of the squad performing well, Conte admits selecting his starting XI has got a bit harder.
Speaking after the 4-0 thrashing of Hull, Conte said: “It was a positive night, Olivier Giroud got his first goal and Willian had an impressive performance.
“For sure when I go home, I have many good doubts because I have to try to make the best decision for Tuesday and to have many options is good for me and good for the team.
“It was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest some important players. At the same time, I saw players in good form.
“I have different options. Now we have three days to make the best decision for the game against Barcelona.”
Chelsea second choice stopper, Willy Caballero, will be on the bench against the Catalan giants but he offered advice on how to stop his compatriot in Tuesday’s game.
Speaking on how to stop Messi, Caballero said: “He’s unpredictable. When you are watching a game on TV the commentator might say, ‘He’s going to do this or that’ but the reality is he is capable of doing things even better or faster or more unpredictable than people think,”
“It is very hard work to control him but it doesn’t come down to a goalkeeper but the whole team. It is the coach who will decide how to plan for the game.
