You Blues are just a long-ball team Fab dig at RDM’s tactics

CESC FABREGAS reckons it will be a production of Beauty and the Beast at Stamford Bridge tonight.

And he is worried the beast could be a very difficult animal to tame.

Former Arsenal skipper Fabregas claims that since the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea have become long-ball merchants and reverted to their old direct style.

It is a tactic he became familiar with during his time in England and one which he says makes the Blues a more dangerous proposition against the artists of Barcelona.

Fabregas, 24, had some bitter battles with Chelsea — especially during Jose Mourinho’s reign — and tasted victory just three times in 16 attempts against them.

He is not expecting it to be any easier tonight against a Chelsea side rejuvenated under Roberto Di Matteo.
Fabregas said: “What happened with Villas-Boas was they played more from the back, trying to keep possession and take the initiative in the game.

“But they’ve gone back to the type of Chelsea that was more successful a few years ago — playing on the counter, trying to hit the targetman, long balls, sitting back and using that No 9 as a reference point.

“The game will be difficult. In recent games against Chelsea when I was at Arsenal and now with Barca, even though we kept possession it’s hard to play against them.

“They counter very easily and Didier Drogba can score against you. So you have to be careful and aware of the threat they pose on the counter-attack.”

“But they also know we’re a hard team to beat and can score winning goals at any moment in a game.”
Fabregas, who joined Barca last summer in a deal that could top £40million, is getting everything he dreamed of and more from his switch to the Nou Camp.

It is possible he could do the Champions League and La Liga double in his first season back at the club he joined as a 10-year-old in 1997.

He said: “It’s much better than I expected and I have played much more than I expected.

“I came here to learn, to get better as a player and a person and also to experience weeks like this — Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League, then Real Madrid in a game which, if we win, we are back in the title race, followed by Chelsea again.

“This is all new to me. My team-mates are more used to it but for me to experience this kind of situation is a dream.

“I’ve learned a lot tactically. I now know my position on the pitch. I feel more mature as a player.”