adminLONDON. — Chelsea will hope to draw inspiration from their 2012 Champions League soccer triumph when they attempt to overturn a 3-1 deficit in their quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
The match kicks-off at 8:45pm.
Javier Pastore’s 90th-minute solo goal in last week’s first leg at Parc des Princes gave PSG a two-goal advantage that puts them firmly in control of the tie ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Only 24 percent of the teams to have lost 3-1 in the away leg of a Uefa tie since 1970 have gone on to reach the next round, but Chelsea can take heart from the fact that they pulled off just such a feat two years ago.
A 3-1 defeat at Napoli in the last 16 precipitated the sacking of coach Andre Villas-Boas, but his successor, Roberto Di Matteo, oversaw a 4-1 win after extra time in the return leg, before leading the west London club to victory on penalties over Bayern Munich in the final.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has never lost a European quarter-final, and defeat by PSG would be doubly difficult for the Portuguese to swallow in the light of Di Matteo’s achievement in 2012 and last year’s Europa League success under interim manager Rafael Benitez.
Furthermore, with Chelsea’s English Premier League title challenge wobbling, success in the Champions League has taken on even greater importance.
Chelsea breezed to a 3-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday, briefly taking them back to the top of the table, but Mourinho insists that their position is “fake” due to the fact that rivals Manchester City still have two games in hand.
He is nevertheless relishing the prospect of today’s game beneath the lights in west London, declaring that his side can approach the match “without fear”.
“I want to enjoy that game. I enjoy the difficulty,” Mourinho said.
“Now we know that we need to win 2-0, 3-1, 4-1, 5-2. We know that we need a crazy result against Paris. We must be ready to go without fear, go at them, and see what happens.
“If we have to lose after a magnificent night of football, a magnificent night of emotion, we have to lose.”
Chelsea have kept eight consecutive clean sheets at Stamford Bridge, but PSG are on a club-record run of 11 successive wins and have lost by two clear goals only once in their last 110 fixtures.
Samuel Eto’o could be available for Chelsea’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain after returning to training yesterday.
Eto’o has not played since being substituted with a hamstring injury in the 6-0 victory over Arsenal, and remains a major doubt for the Uefa Champions League showdown at Stamford Bridge.
However, Mourinho is keen to have some added firepower at his disposal as the Blues look to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg, and received a boost on the eve of Today’s game as Eto’o came through a training session.
Mourinho had previously indicated over the weekend that he would be prepared to take a calculated gamble on Eto’o.
“Will Eto’o be fit? Let’s see. Let’s see if he trains on Monday. Maybe he could play but to risk a player you need to have minimum conditions to take that risk,” explained Mourinho.
“If you think he’s going to be out after 10 minutes of the game you can’t take that risk. If there is a minimum of risk, then yes.
“We need to score goals. If we don’t score a minimum of two goals we are out. We know that, so if we can have everybody available who can give us a chance to score goals then let’s do that.”
Mourinho also has problems in midfield, with Ramires suspended and Nemanja Matic ineligible, but he believes Chelsea can complete an “almost impossible” mission.
“Am I nervous about the match? No,”said Mourinho. “I’d have been nervous if we’d won 1-0 or 2-0 in Paris, but losing 3-1 means I am not nervous. I want to enjoy the game, I want to enjoy the fight, I want to enjoy the risk. So, no nerves.
“A big game, an almost impossible job — so let’s go. — AFP.
Online Reporter