Football: Chelsea on Barca revenge mission, says Di Matteo

Mourinho predicts tough ride for Madrid in last-four.

LONDON: Roberto Di Matteo admits Chelsea will be motivated by revenge when they face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

Many of Chelsea’s current stars still feel the emotional scars from Barca’s controversial Champions League semi-final victory over the Blues in 2009. Chelsea, managed then by Guus Hiddink, felt they were denied several clear penalties before Andres Iniesta’s last-gasp strike sent Barca through to the final on away goals.

Now Chelsea, 3-1 aggregate winners against Benfica in the quarter-finals, have a chance to avenge that loss by ending Barca’s reign as European champions.

“We’ve faced them a lot of times over the years and a lot of our players have some history against Barcelona,” said Di Matteo. “Certainly they feel a bit hard done by from when we played against them three years ago.

“It will be exciting to play two games against one of the best teams in the world. We will find a strategy that will suit our team and our players to face Barcelona. They have some individuals that are a big threat and very dangerous, but we also have to play our game and play to our strengths.”

Terry set for scan after cracking ribs

Chelsea captain John Terry was to undergo scans last night after revealing he has cracked two ribs.

The 31-year-old came off an hour into the quarter-final having initially suffered the injury in the first-leg victory in Lisbon.

“I couldn’t breathe and my chest was closing up,” said Terry. “I was having a difficult time out there, especially in the first half. Hopefully, I’ll be okay. I don’t know how long I’ll be out. I will have a scan in the morning (Thursday) and we will see where we go from there. It’s just horrible.”

Mourinho anticipates tough battle with Bayern

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho predicted bitter rivals Barcelona would reach the Champions League final but was not sure whether his side would be strong enough to beat Bayern Munich and join them.

The Portuguese tactician - winner of the trophy with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010 - was speaking after the nine-time European champions had breezed into the last-four after beating plucky Cypriot side Apoel Nicosia 5-2 on the night and 8-2 on aggregate.

“Our semi will be a difficult match for both sides, but I am sure Barca will be the other finalist as they have such a good side,” he said. “Bayern will obviously be a strong rival, they are a very powerful club both on and off the pitch with great fans and it’s a semi-final we all want to play, I think Europe in general will enjoy it.”

His compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo echoed his sentiments about their next opponents, who have been crowned European champions four times.

“Bayern are one of the teams that can win the trophy so they will be a difficult opponent for us,” said Ronaldo, whose double strike against Apoel took his tally for the season to 49 goals.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2012.