Henry: Barca ready to destroy Blues
Barcelona forward Thierry Henry says his side can destroy Chelsea in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp and plant one foot firmly in the final. The Catalans have consistently run riot on home soil both domestically and in Europe this season, putting four past Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and five past Lyon in the last 16.
And having recently despatched Sevilla 4-0 prior to Saturday's 2-2 draw away at Valencia, the former Arsenal talisman is confident Pep Guardiola's side are playing well enough to handle anything Guus Hiddink's side have to throw at them.
"For us it is not a problem that some people have made Barcelona favourites," he said.
"We accept that we will have to fight hard to make sure we make it to the final in Rome. Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink is a great tactician so it will be hard. But if we have enough possession we are capable of destroying any rival we face."
And while all the pre-match hype has centered around Jose Bosingwa's battle with Lionel Messi on the right flank, Henry insists the la Liga leaders have far more in reserve should the Blues be able to negate the diminutive Argentine's threat.
"For me Lionel Messi is without doubt the No.1 player in the world," he said.
"If Leo plays like he has been doing he is capable of sending the Chelsea defenders mad.
"But Barcelona is not all about Messi. Players like Xavi and Iniesta are both unique and brilliant players."
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.