Chelsea bring back an old Jose Mourinho ruse
Barcelona's players were not happy with the surface at Stamford Bridge
Everything in reverse. We've heard millions of times how the clubs care for the grass and try to get it into as fine a conition as possible for games. However Chelsea did exactly the opposite for the game against Barcelona (1-1) on Tuesday.
After training on Monday the Barca players complained about the state of the grass, which was too high and too dry. During the game it was possible to see the ball did not move smoothly and it stopped some of Barcelona's rapid moves, abvoe all when Messi was in the middle of the pitch.
This famous trick was something Jose Mourinho used at Real Madrid. Against Pep Guardiola's machine, the Bernabeu sometimes seemed more like the German black jungle than a football stadium.
The curious thing is that as soon as the game against Barcelona was over, they started to cut the grass at Stamford Bridge. Once their mission was complete they immediately began preparing the stadium - although the next home game is not until March 10 against Crystal Palace.
They hve a double duel in Manchester - against Mourinho's United on Sunday 4 and then Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
