Football: ‘Chelsea over Champions League exit’

Rafael Benitez says Chelsea had put the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League behind them.

YOKOHAMA: Rafael Benitez said that Chelsea had put the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League behind them, on the eve of a mouth-watering Club World Cup final against Corinthians. “Before the semi-final against Monterrey, I was a bit concerned that going out of the Champions League would have a negative impact,” said Benitez. “It took a good few days, but we recovered from that shock. It may motivate the squad because now we have an opportunity to win the Club World Cup and that’s very good for us. It’s hard to find faults, but let’s talk about how good they are after today’s final. My priority is to win. If we can, we will see what the next step is. My job is to do as well as possible on the pitch, improve the team, and if we win trophies that will be even better.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2012.