Ex-Chelsea Star Mikel Obi To Messi, Pique, Iniesta & Co: Remember April 24, 2012

Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel is backing Chelsea to progress to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League despite Barcelona holding the Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

Chelsea have found themselves in a similar situation before, during the 2011-2012 season when Mikel put in a full shift as the London club overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate on April 24, 2012.

Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets who all started against Antonio Conte's side at Stamford Bridge on February 20, 2018 participated in the game at the Camp Nou six years ago.

''I played for Chelsea for 11 years and that comeback I will remember for the rest of my life,'' Mikel told Tianjin Today’s Evening News.

''Obviously I will continue to support Chelsea as always and hopefully they will go through into the next round.

''I believe they will knock out Barcelona on their own ground, just like we did in 2012.''

During Mikel's time at Chelsea, he played 59 matches in the Champions League, scoring two goals.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel