Pulse Analysis: Victor Moses had his best performance of the season against Barcelona
A Pulse analysis of Victor Moses' performance in Chelsea's 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the Champions League.
In Chelsea’s Champions League 1-1 draw against Barcelona on Tuesday, February 20, Victor Moses put in his best performance of the season and perhaps for over a year for the reigning Premier League champions.
As expected, Chelsea played most of the 90 minutes without the ball but impressed going forward on the counter attacks and ended up having more chances than Barcelona.
Chelsea Vs Barcelona possession
Despite having 69% of possession, Barcelona were limited to just two shots on goal and three off it. That was because of the intense and closing defending by Chelsea’s back-line including Moses.
Pushed back to right-back
Although known as a wing-back, Moses played primarily as a right-back all through the game as they were pushed back by Barcelona.
With Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba to keep an eye on, Moses was quiet in the opening minutes and was first called into action in the 17th minute, tracking Alba's run into the Chelsea box to stop a pass from Lionel Messi.
In the 37th minute, he showed strength and pace to recover after Alba had beaten him one-on-one in the Chelsea box.
In the second half, he did well in the 65th minute to hold Luis Suarez after the Barcelona striker had run clear of Chelsea defender.
No fault in Barcelona equaliser
For the Barcelona equaliser, Moses had little to do to prevent the goal. He left his position after Cesar Azpilicueta had come out to clear the ball.
Azpilicueta, however, missed the ball before Iniesta ran into the space left by Moses to cross for Messi to score.
Despite that slip, Moses put in his best performance of the season. He read the game well and was sharp in tackling.
Offensively, he didn’t offer much as Chelsea defended most of the game.
Moses’ best performances so far this season have come in the Champions League. He had a massive game when Chelsea won 2-1 away at Atletico Madrid in September 2017.
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