Don’t blow it

Posted Wednesday, April 04, 2012 by The Sun

Don’t blow it
NO LET-UP ... boss Di Matteo warns Chelsea to be at their best

ROBERTO DI MATTEO last night warned his Chelsea players not to blow their chance of Champions League glory.

The Blues defend a 1-0 first-leg lead going into tonight’s quarter-final clash with Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

But caretaker-boss Di Matteo insisted: “This tie is far from over and we have to approach this game like we did when we were 3-1 down to Napoli in the last round.

“Benfica have scored in every away game of their Champions League campaign and 1-0 means nothing.”

Di Matteo knows his team can’t afford to take their foot off the gas in the competition Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wants to win above all others.

He added: “We’ve done nothing yet and the players are aware of this. We have to put in a great performance to overcome Benfica.

“This is a huge game for the club and for all the players. We need to qualify for the next round. But this team has enough experience to deal with pressure. They’re used to it.

“They can raise their game to be able to perform in these pressure matches.”

If Chelsea win they could face 13 games in the final month and a half of the season.

Di Matteo said: “I think there are a lot of other clubs who would like to have so many important games.

“We have a fully-fit squad and every player will have an opportunity to help and provide us with some freshness.”