- Netherlands national team assistant coach Ruud Gullit believes Antonio Conte will be relieved of his duties if Chelsea underperform against Barca on Wednesday, March 14
- Both sides played out 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Stamford Bridge about three weeks ago
- The two teams also won their league games over the weekend, while the hosts will miss Andres Iniesta due to injury
Former Chelsea midfielder Ruud Gullit has predicted that Antonio Conte could get sacked if he fails to get a desired result when his side face Barcelona in the Champions League knockout stage second leg clash at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, March 14.
The two sides played 1-1 draw at the Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture last month, with Lionel Messi scoring in the 76th minute to cancel Willian’s earlier goal.
With the Stamford Bridge outfit struggling to return to the top four positions on the Premier League log – winning the UEFA elite competition might be their only way of playing in Europe next season.
READ ALSO: Conte admits Chelsea have no quality to cause an upset against Barcelona
Conte’s men are currently four points behind Liverpool, who currently 4th on the table with 60 points after 30 games, and the Dutch national team assistant coach says the former Juventus handler must show he has learnt from his side’s disappointing defeat to the two Manchester Clubs in past weeks.
Gullit played a double role while playing for Chelsea’s in the late 1990’s and led them to their first trophy in 26 years – the 1997 FA Cup as a player and coach.
The 55-year-old said: “If he does not come up with an answer against Barca’s style of attacking, Conte will get the arrows at him from all angles.”
Gullit added that the only way Conte can get owner Roman Abramovich happy is to reach the last eight stage of the championship this Wednesday.
Gullit continued: “Against Barca, Conte can prove he has learnt from last week’s passive approach against Manchester City. He must show that he is capable of creating a game plan and tactics that lead to victory.
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“In the home game against Barca, he was unlucky his team missed a few big chances and the first and only chance Barca had was a goal.
“Managers, obviously, are dependent on the quality in their squad.
“But, at the very top in Europe, there are many players of similar level. It is here where choices and decisions of a manager make the difference. Conte did not act when needed.”
While reacting to Tottenahm Hotspur’s disappointing ouster from the tournament, Gullit believes Mauricio Pochettino and his men were just being naive as Spurs bowed out of the Champions League to Juventus.
He said: “Neither the players nor Pochettino came up with any answer to Massimiliano Allegri’s tactical masterpiece.”
The 2012 Champions League winners return to winning ways for the first in their slim victory over Crystal Palace last weekend, having gone three games without a win since their first meeting with the Catalans on February 20.
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