Willian proves his worth as Alvaro Morata sits on fringes: Five things we learned from Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona

Lionel Messi snatched a crucial late away goal for Barcelona as Chelsea carelessly threw away a hard-earned advantage at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s Willian struck the woodwork twice in the first half but it was a case of third time lucky for the Brazilian who went on to net an outstanding goal in the second period.

Barcelona, who were stifled for long periods by the Blues, were gifted an away goal with just under 15 minutes remaining after Andreas Christensen gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area.

After a compelling first leg encounter, here are five things we learned from the match:

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There were times during Chelsea’s title winning campaign last season when you wondered if Willian had a long-term future at the Bridge. He was exemplary when all else collapsed around him in the twilight of the Mourinho desecration, and his peripheral status, playing second fiddle to Pedro, felt like a grave injustice. But thankfully for Chelsea, Antonio Conte kept hold of the Brazilian playmaker and tonight he showed his worth. A constant threat on the break, Barcelona were unable to stop his excellent movement and space-invading qualities as time and again he carved out openings for himself and others. It looked like it wasn’t going to be his night, as even though the Catalans failed to find ways to halt him, the woodwork did – twice. But Willian is nothing if not tenacious, and he found the net at the third time of asking in superb style, caressing the ball into the far corner. Chelsea are lucky to have him.

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There’s always a risk when playing a 3-4-3 that wing-backs are lured into the back-line to form a less demanding but highly repugnant back five. For long spells in the game, this did happen, as Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses were forced back by Barcelona’s dominance of the ball. But for all of their possession, Barcelona were completely shut down by Chelsea. Lionel Messi was rendered ineffectual, left to pick up the ball from deep, while Suarez was not given a sniff of a gap in the Blues’ resolute backline. But Antonio Conte cautioned before kick-off that his players would need to put in a perfect performance to get the right result, but in the end, they couldn’t do that, as a costly error has put Barcelona very much in the driving seat ahead of the second leg at the Nou Camp.

There’s a reason why the master himself, Tim ‘59% win ratio’ Sherwood, was unable to get the best out of Paulinho. And on tonight’s showing, Barcelona are naive to think otherwise. Paulinho put in a Paulinho-of-old display for his new employers, cut adrift out wide, he struggled to have any impact on proceedings, before missing a great chance midway through the first half, putting a free header comfortably wide of Thibaut Courtois’s goal. His departure swiftly after the visitors went behind summed up a disappointing night for the Brazilian. It would of course be harsh to whitewash his excellent start to life in Catalunya based on one display, admittedly in an unfamiliar right-wing position, but he will want to put tonight’s performance behind him.

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Lionel Messi has finally smashed the curse of Stamford Bridge, with a little help from Andreas Christensen. For a long time, it seemed as though there was something about the Bridge that just doesn’t sit right with Argentine captain. Could it be the plush surroundings, or the constant drone of the word ‘Chelsea’ on repeat from the Shed end? Or maybe it’s the memory of John Terry’s pocket? Whatever the truth of the matter, the curse looked to be in full effect again as Messi cut a frustrated figure for 75 minutes. But after Christensen carelessly gave the ball away on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, the selfless Andres Iniesta obliged Messi to end his torment, bringing a run of five games without a goal to an end, while scoring his first against Chelsea after eight previous attempts.

Discussions on the King’s Road were dominated by who would lead the line for Chelsea before kick-off. Olivier Giroud had netted his first goal for his new club against Hull City on Friday, and looked a strong contender to replace a misfiring Alvaro Morata. But even though the Spaniard only seems to take chances infrequently, as a product of Spanish football and of Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid, the odds weighed in his favour. Yet Conte had other ideas. By dropping both forwards for his side’s biggest game of the season, the Italian showed that he doesn’t trust either striker. Eden Hazard’s performance also hints at longer spells on the bench for both of them in the near future.