Had it not been for one naive pass from Andreas Christensen, Chelsea's performance against Barcelona last night would be widely revered as a masterclass in counter-attacking football.

Perhaps the Blues should have shown more ambition at home, knowing how hard it can be for teams at the Nou Camp, but before Christensen's uncharacteristically sloppy ball across the penalty area, it was the home side who looked the likeliest to find the net again - despite La Liga's champions-in-waiting finishing up with 73% possession.

And the effectiveness of Antonio Conte's game-plan, which almost resulted in a crucial Chelsea advantage for the return leg, owed to two key factors; Chelsea's immaculate organisation, discipline and resilience as their 3-4-3 system slipped into something closer resembling 5-4-1, combined with the dynamism, flair and speed to break out of it and create moments at the other end.

Instrumental in the second instance was Willian, the scorer of Chelsea's goal with a cute, curled pass around and assortment of bodies that escaped Marc-Andre ter Stegen's field of view and sneaked into the low corner of the net. Before that though, the Brazil international hit the woodwork twice with two other curlers from distance. The first fizzed onto the right-hand post, the second connected with the left at almost exactly the same height.

As well as being Chelsea's biggest goal threat though, the 29-year-old was their biggest driving force in many respects going forward. Showing how vital he was to helping the Blues break out from the back, he completed the most dribbles of any player on the pitch, and showing how vital he was to making opportunities when they did get into the final third, he created the joint-most chances of any player on the pitch as well.

https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/earliest-plwins.mp4

Also chipping in with two tackles, it was an incredibly complete performance from Willian - one that begs the question of why Conte has used the attacking midfielder so sparingly this season, particularly in the Premier League where he's started less than half of Chelsea's 27 fixtures thus far. But it would be wrong to look at the negatives when there is such an obvious positive here; regardless of what's happened already this season, Willian's come into form at the crucial business end of the Blues' campaign.

With an FA Cup, the Champions League title and a top four finish still to play for, he'll be a vital asset for Chelsea in the coming weeks, especially in the big games when his counter-attacking qualities really stand out - like they did last night. So, Blues supporters, would you start Willian - who Transfermarkt value at £28.8million - against Manchester United on Sunday? Let us know by voting below...