Barcelona dispose of Chelsea to advance to quarters: 3 things we learned

Chelsea gave it their all but their four-match unbeaten run at the Camp Nou finally came to an end. Here’s what we learned from the match.

Lionel Messi showed why he’s the best player in the world tonight, as he knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League with two goals and an assist to lead Barcelona to a 3-0 victory in the second leg of their round of 16 tie.

Here are three takeaways from Barcelona’s triumph.

The Chelsea monkey is off of Messi’s back

Barcelona had failed to beat Chelsea in their last eight Champions League meetings (two wins for Chelsea and six draws). A big part of that record was Messi’s lackluster performances against the Blues.

Tonight, Barcelona put an end to the eight-match run and Messi is the reason why. The Argentinian played a part in all four of Barcelona’s goals across both legs.

He scored the lone goal at Stamford Bridge, his first against Chelsea. He scored the fastest goal of his career tonight at the Camp Nou, just 128 seconds into the match, and assisted Ousmane Dembele’s cracker that put the dagger through Chelsea’s hearts.

After Chelsea got off to solid start in the second half, it was Messi who put an end to any hope for a comeback when he nutmegged Thibaut Courtois for the second time in the 63rd minute.

He also initiated the attacking movements for the first two goals.

On the first one, he attempted to play a one-two with Dembele and although the Frenchmen couldn’t control Messi’s initial pass, Marcos Alonso couldn’t control the rebound which gave the ball back to Luis Suarez, allowing him to play Messi to the end line. From their, the Argentinian passed the ball into the net through Courtois’s five hole.

On the second goal, Messi won the ball off former teammate Cesc Fabregas in midfield and then started the two-on-two counter-attack that would lead to Barcelona’s second of the night.

Messi’s failures against Chelsea were one of soccer Twitter’s favorite memes, but tonight he put them to rest.

Can Chelsea still be considered one of Europe’s elite?

Antonio Conte is apparently leaving Chelsea at the end of the season to take the PSG job, according to Grant Wahl.

While his departure is most likely mutual, what are the odds Chelsea bring in a better manager?

Tonight’s match didn’t show Chelsea aren’t as big as they once were; it confirmed it. They’re no longer linked with world-class players who become available on the market. Manchester City have usurped them there.

They don’t produce world-class players in their youth academy either.

If they fail to finish in the top four, their lone superstar, Eden Hazard, may be on the way out.

The odds are stacked against them, meaning a world-class manager isn’t coming through the door to tip the odds back in their favor either.

No world-class players, no world-class academy and no world-class manager. Chelsea aren’t a world-class club anymore, and Roman Abramovich doesn’t have the funds to bring them back to those heights.

They’ve fallen out of Europe’s elite, and are now scrapping with Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Next: Top 25 players in Champions League history

Neymar who?

Neymar needed Barcelona more than Barcelona needed Neymar.

Dembele scored his first goal in 13 appearances tonight and the Catalonian club romped their way into the quarterfinals, while Neymar’s PSG never looked threatening in their knockout tie with Real Madrid.

Sure, matchups and injuries played a role but Barcelona have showed no signs of missing Neymar.

Dembele is six years younger than the Brazilian. Playing alongside the attacking intelligence of Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi will only help him improve. Based on the natural ability he has already shown, there’s an argument to be made he’ll be better than Neymar one day.

Let’s not forget Philippe Coutinho is a Barcelona player as well, and will most likely be a regular in the competition next season.

Meanwhile, there are rumors Neymar wants out of PSG already. If Conte is named PSG manager, the work he’ll ask the Brazilian to do in his system seems likely to make him force a transfer for the second summer in a row.

Barcelona made the right call last summer. If your club is prestigious enough to replace Neymar, then he isn’t worth the headache.