Petr Cech: 'Lionel Messi is only human'

Petr Cech believes that Chelsea are capable of nullifying Lionel Messi when they face Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final.

The Blues host Barca in the first leg of their last-four tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, with Messi in ominously good goalscoring form.

The Argentine has scored 26 times in his last 14 outings and has only once failed to score during that spell, but Cech is backing his defenders to keep him quiet tomorrow evening.

"Messi in his current form is an enormous threat. He is for sure one of the best players in the world but, as I said before, no team is invincible," Cech told his official website.

"His ball technique is superb but, most importantly, he can react to how the game develops. At the last possible moment in any situation he can find the ideal solution. There are a lot of ways that Messi can finish an attack.

"On the other hand, he is also only human and if we perform to 100 per cent, we will be able to defend against him."

In total, Messi has scored 63 goals in 53 appearances this season.