Chelsea warriors digging in for Barca assault
Reuters - Tuesday 17 April 2012, 13:43
Written off as too old and
accused of hastening the downfall of Andre Villas-Boas,
Chelsea's old guard have flourished under stand-in manager
Roberto Di Matteo and will relish trying to halt Barcelona's
bandwagon on Wednesday.
Chelsea reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for
a sixth time after a thrilling second leg comeback to knock out
Napoli, playing with more freedom and confidence since Italian
Di Matteo replaced the sacked Villas-Boas in early March.
Holders Barcelona represent formidable opponents but the
likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry will walk
out at Stamford Bridge for the first leg with no trepidation and
fuelled with a desire to avenge a bitter semi-final defeat in
2009.
The sides have met four times in the knockout phase of the
tournament with Barca prevailing three times, most notably three
years ago when Chelsea were on the brink of reaching the final
before Andres Iniesta's stunning stoppage time strike broke
their hearts and sent Drogba apoplectic with rage.
Drogba warmed up for another meeting with Barca with a
spectacular goal in the 5-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over
Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, while Lampard scored a sensational
free kick and Terry produced some defensive heroics.
All three have been instrumental in the club's upturn in
fortune since Villas-Boas left.
Di Matteo is holding the fort while owner Roman Abromovich
decides on a new general, with Barca's Pep Guardiola one of the
names mentioned, but the Italian appears to have unified a
fractured dressing room - crucially getting the best out of the
club's old warriors.
"Robbie has been brilliant, he took over a team that was
looking like going out of the Champions League, struggling in
the league," Lampard told Chelsea's website.
"He loves the club, he has brought confidence into the
dressing room, spoke to all the players and you can see the
response he has got."
Barca have been on a dizzying run of form, winning 14 of
their last 15 matches and drawing the other 0-0 against AC Milan
in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Lionel Messi has scored 26 goals in 14 games during that run
and the Argentine World Player of the Year has set a new
Champions League season record of 14 goals.
His incredible 63 goals in all competitions this term is
only four short of the all-time season record of 67 set by
former Bayern Munich striker Gerd Muller in 1972/73.
"All that matters in the two games is that we perform on the
night. Barcelona have so many players that can hurt you, the
greatest player in the world in Lionel Messi so it's a tough
task for us but we have to be confident," Lampard said.
If Chelsea can shackle Messi they have half a chance of
knocking out the holders as they did in 2005.
"Messi is decisive, and when you have the best player in the
world in your team, you tend to become a little dependent on him
because he is goal-hungry and in any match he can be the
decisive element," said Barca midfielder Javier Mascherano.
The first leg comes three days before crucial domestic
league fixtures for both clubs.
Barcelona have cut Real Madrid's lead at the top of La Liga
back from 10 points to four over the last month and host Jose
Mourinho's side, who play Bayern Munich in the other Champions
League semi-final this week, on Saturday.
Chelsea face Arsenal on Saturday when defeat could mean
their best hope of playing in next season's Champions League
could be by winning this year's competition.
Probable teams:
Chelsea: 1-Petr Cech; 2-Branislav Ivanovic, 26-John Terry,
24-Gary Cahill, 3-Ashley Cole, 10-Juan Mata, 5-Michael Essien,
7-Ramires, 8-Frank Lampard, 21-Salomon Kalou; 11-Didier Drogba.
Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 2-Dani Alves, 3-Gerard Pique,
14-Javier Mascherano, 5-Carles Puyol; 15-Seydou Keita, 6-Xavi
Hernandez, 16-Sergio Busquets; 9-Alexis Sanchez, 10-Lionel
Messi, 8-Andres Iniesta.