CECH - MESSI COULDN'T SCORE ME FOR LONG

Peter Cech, Chelsea performance advisor and goalkeeper has recounted how he stopped Lionel Messi during past matches, saying that it took a long period before Lionel Messi could succeed in scoring against him.

Barcelona and Chelsea had engaged in a heated and robust rivalry from 2004 to 2012, facing each other ten times. Cech, who was the Chelsea goalkeeper for all the matches, managed to hold off all of Messi's attempts during that time.

Cech recalled that it was when he was playing for Arsenal that the Barca superstar finally netted one goal over him. Till today, Cech is still thrilled with this outstanding achievements. Cech said that the best keep he produced was Messi's penalty kick in the Champions League in 2012. And he was able to know the side Messi wanted to shoot the ball, forcing the six times Balon D'or winner to miss the penalty.
According to Cech, Messi missed penalties and he made some saves. Cech said the playmaker hit the woodwork but never scored against him at Chelsea. He revered having a clean sheet against the Argentine. That was a defining and a great moment in 2012 when he was given the penalty in the Nou Camp, he added.
“I was thinking at that time about what he could or would do. Thus, my then strategy was to wait until I saw the side he was going to hit the ball. So when I went the side he was going to play the ball, Messi knew he had to play the ball high so he would beat me, but he moved too high, and the ball hit the bar,” Cech said.
In addition to being Messi's ultimate nemesis in Chelsea, Cech also showed that Chelsea and Barcelona's rivalry began in 2006.