Who could forget club icon Frank Lampard’s lob against Victor Valdes from an impossible angle in 2006? Or the remarkable raid six years later which set the path for Champions League glory, with dogged Ramires pulling off an artisanal chip from right-back and the bemoaned Jose Bosingwa performing like a warrior in the centre of defence for the Blues’ 10 men?
Such redoubtable displays have been required to gain an unbelievable statistic.
During a spell in which Barcelona have boasted arguably football’s strongest club side, Chelsea have remained unbeaten in four visits since 2006.
No victories were gained in this time. That’s no surprise.
But after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in which the hosts exceeded expectations, this faultless run should provide welcome cheer for embattled manager Antonio Conte.
A new talisman is required on Wednesday night to carry them over the line – and red-hot Willian is the outstanding candidate.
Amid Spain striker Alvaro Morata’s descent into a goalscoring abyss and the grumbles from Belgium livewire Eden Hazard about his false-nine deployment, the Brazil forward has burned red hot.
50 - Willian is making his 50th consecutive Premier League appearance today - the longest current run in the competition among outfield players. Ubiquitous. pic.twitter.com/WUex5cHstb
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 20, 2018
During this run, the 29-year-old has rocketed in five goals from five matches. This figure would have been boosted further if the woodwork hadn’t twice denied him last month before he fired in a resounding opener against Barca.
That’s a goal every 87.6 minutes. Half of his shots on target (10) have led to the keeper picking the ball out of his net.
During this timeframe, only Olivier Giroud and Pedro have joined him on the scoresheet – and both of these efforts came in the 4-0 FA Cup rout of a bedraggled Hull City who could be bound for League One.
The 2-1 weekend win against Crystal Palace was, of course, earned through Martin Kelly’s own goal.
Willian is the proud possessor of 13 strikes in 2017/18, already making this term his most productive in west London. A handsome return made more surprising by the fact he waited until October 10 to break his duck, at the 14th time of asking.
Ramires scored a beautiful chip at Barcelona in 2012’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Since he was stolen from Tottenham’s grasp in 2013, the limelight has rarely been Willian’s at Stamford Bridge. A subservient role and occasional thunderbolt are all that’s been asked of him him as Hazard and – departed – Spain centre forward Diego Costa dominated.
Collective knowledge within Chelsea’s core details special effort is a necessity to come away from Camp Nou in the quarter-finals.
From Barca’s last 48 home matches, only twice has a scoreline been recorded that would send the Blues through without needing penalties.
On home territory in 2017/18, they’ve registered 60 times from 22 games in all competitions – including a 3-0 humbling of Conte’s beloved Juventus in the group stage.
In the absence of any likelier source, the Blues will look to Willian to pull off this epic feat.
It’s a scenario few expected. But one he’s ready to pull off.
