Barcelona vs Chelsea FC preview - Di Matteo hails Chelsea quality

Posted Tuesday, April 24, 2012 by PA

Roberto Di Matteo declared Chelsea were good enough to win the Champions League as he stood on the brink of leading them to arguably the greatest victory in their history.

Barely seven weeks since taking charge and less than seven days after masterminding an astonishing semi-final first-leg win over Barcelona, caretaker Blues boss Di Matteo arrived at the Nou Camp determined to complete the job.

Chelsea have been written off this season and even before that, something that prompted Di Matteo to hit out at their critics after Saturday's Barclays Premier League game at Arsenal.

And he was adamant they have what it takes to end their agonising nine-year wait for Champions League glory since Roman Abramovich bought the club.

"We do have the qualities within this team," he said.

"I think we need away from home, as we've seen in the past, a bit of luck to be able to do well in a competition like this.

"But, certainly, the quality and the squad we have at Chelsea is very good."

Di Matteo has been praised and condemned in almost equal measure for placing such an emphasis on defence in Wednesday's night's 1-0 first-leg win and he defended those tactics again.

"You have to utilise the strengths of your players, and see what the weakness of the opposition is," he said.

"I respect other people's opinion, but I disagree."

An ultra-defensive formation runs a huge risk of one of Chelsea's players picking up a yellow card - or worse.

With four of their likely starters one booking from a suspension, there are places in the final on the line in more ways than one.

"I don't think we can be thinking about that in the game tomorrow," said Di Matteo, who looks set to start Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Raul Meireles and Ramires.

"The players will be playing fully focused on their task and their responsibilities in the game. We cannot speculate on the bookings."

Of more concern to Di Matteo is the fitness of Didier Drogba, who was the match-winner last week and once again proved a thorn in Barcelona's side.

Drogba trained on Monday night after missing the Arsenal game with a knee injury and Di Matteo said: "I'll assess the physical and mental state of my players.

"I'll make the team selection tomorrow morning, so I can't tell you what it'll be tomorrow night."

Drogba would boost Chelsea's chances of scoring an away goal that would leave Barca needing to net three.

"I do think we'll have to try and score a goal," Di Matteo said.

"That would give us a greater chance. I think it'll be difficult just playing for a goalless draw."

Real Madrid arguably showed Di Matteo the way, with Saturday's 2-1 victory at the Nou Camp in what could prove the Primera Division's title decider.

"You cannot take another team and another manager, with the team we have," Di Matteo said.

"We have to look at the players who will play tomorrow and try to get the best out of them, and play to the qualities of our team."

Chelsea's recent success has been built on returning to their core values that begins with solid defending.

That has been led by John Terry and January signing Gary Cahill and Di Matteo said: "We're very pleased with the way our defenders have been playing lately.

"We've been able to defend very well, keep some clean sheets.

"We've been positively impressed with Gary since he came to the club."

Meanwhile, Gerard Pique does not believe Drogba is a diver, but the Barcelona defender admitted he might change his mind if the Chelsea striker continued to go down easily in the second leg showdown.

Drogba managed to waste a crucial six-and-a-half minutes in the Blues' first-leg win after collapsing to the ground in apparent agony several times at Stamford Bridge.

Barca initially reacted by sportingly kicking the ball out of play but eventually became infuriated by Drogba's antics, with captain Carles Puyol letting rip at the 34-year-old.

Pique, who could be charged with marking Drogba, looked on from the bench on Wednesday and was diplomatic in the extreme in the pre-match press conference at the Nou Camp.

Informed that former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney had hit out at Drogba on Twitter, Pique said: "He's always on Twitter, isn't he?

"I believe in Drogba that, every time he fell down, it was because he was in pain, or he felt a kick on him.

"I don't think that, when Drogba fell down, he was trying to act or dive.

"If not, we'll start to talk about football not having fair play and being all about cheats. Football is not like that.

"We have to keep all the good things, and diving and cheating is not good."

He added: "If he keeps doing that, you might end up thinking that's the case (that he is not hurt). But I believe in his honesty."

Despite his theatrics, Drogba was outstanding on Wednesday night, scoring the winner and proving a handful for Barca's defence.

Pique, who has missed the world and European champions' last five matches, could be recalled specifically to combat the striker.

The 25-year-old's only experience of playing against Drogba came in the 2009 Champions League semi-final and he revealed he was considering consulting former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand about dealing with the Ivory Coast star.

"Rio sent me a text message and wanted to talk to me today," he said.

"Maybe that's what he wants to talk about. We could talk about Drogba.

"He's one of the best forwards I've ever seen.

"It'll be a very hard duel if I'm in the starting XI."

Pique's recent absence has ostensibly been due to injury but there have also been rumours of a falling out with manager Pep Guardiola, amid concerns he has lost focus due to his relationship with pop star Shakira.

Pique said: "I look back over the whole season looking at where it could be better. Of course you think like that.

"I spoke with the coach on Friday again - we do, usually - and not just about football.

"He told me what he thought, and that's it. He's always tough on me. He has been since the first year, but I like that."

He added: "My relationship with him is very, very good."

Barca have also come under fire in the past week.

Having previously been feted by some as the greatest club side of all time, back to back defeats against Chelsea and Real Madrid have led some to question whether they will win any major trophy this season.

Pique said: "A team that has won 13 trophies in three and a half years deserves more credit than that.

"Other teams need to win more championships before we start talking like that. We deserve respect."

Pique denied Barcelona had become overly reliant on Lionel Messi and refused to use fatigue as an excuse for their last two performances.

He also shrugged off Barca's failure to beat Chelsea in their last seven meetings and was confident Guardiola would not jump ship when his contract expires this summer.

He said: "I'd bet he'll be with us again next year."