Lionel Messi has never scored against Chelsea... so how does the Barcelona star fare against Europe's best?

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He's only three goals away from joining the Champions League 100 club, but Lionel Messi will have to do something he's never done before to get there in the next two games - score against Chelsea.In eight meetings between 2006 and 2012, Messi failed to find the back of the net in 655 minutes on the pitch against the Blues.
The closest he came - their last clash in the 2012 semi-final - was striking the bar from the penalty spot, a moment that ended up costing Barca a place in the final.
It would have put Barcelona 3-1 up on the night, and ahead on aggregate with 40 minutes left to play against their 10-man opponents after John Terry's sending off.
As it was, Messi fluffed his lines, Chelsea held firm and Fernando Torres sent Gary Neville wild. The rest, is history. 
He has the chance to finally banish that memory when Barca visit Stamford Bridge for the first time in six years on Tuesday, but the weight of history is against Messi. 
The Argentine's duck against Chelsea has become a hoodoo. He hasn't played against a Champions League opponent more, facing AC Milan and PSG eight times also.


But against PSG he averages a goal every 90 minutes, and one just a shade over every 150 against the Italians.
Chelsea aren't alone in keeping Messi off the scoresheet, though no team has proved anywhere near as successful. 
The 30-year-old has also failed to score against Atletico and Rubin Kazan four times, Benfica and Liverpool twice, and in one appearance against Udinese.
While he hates the sight of Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen bring out the best in him. He averages a goal every 38 minutes against the German side, scoring seven times in 270 minutes.
Ajax come a close second, conceding one every 41 minutes, Messi having scored six times in 247 minutes.
While Chelsea have proved adept at stopping Messi, he remains prolific against English opposition. He is scored 17 times in 26 games against Premier League clubs - more than any other league.
But German teams are made to feel like a punchbag more than any other nation he is regularly pitted against. He averages one every 70 minutes, with 16 in just 14 appearances against the best of the Bundesliga. 
If Chelsea can keep him out for a further 180 minutes over the next month, Messi may begin to think fate is acting against him.

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