UCL:'Calm' Chelsea and 'excited' Atlético square

Published: Tuesday 29 April 2014, 21.27CET
José Mourinho, boosted by positive injury
news, believes Chelsea FC's semi-final
could not be better balanced; Diego Simeone
declared Club Atlético de Madrid "excited
and keen".
by Jamie Reid
from London Tweet 0 E-MAIL PRINT 32 Like
Willian (left) and David Luiz (centre) will
miss the final if they are booked and Chelsea
win

SUSPENSIONS AND INJURIES

Terry raring to go
Tiago, Suárez want final
Chelsea target third final
Čech, Terry sidelined
Mario Suárez's belief
Chelsea's Cahill pleased
Simeone: No way through
Chelsea earn Atlético draw
Chelsea stun Liverpool
Silence for Vilanova and Boškov
Madrid end Bayern reign
Online treasure hunt
The greatest?
José Mourinho believes Chelsea FC's UEFA
Champions League semi-final with Club
Atlético de Madrid could not be more closely
balanced as they begin Wednesday's
Stamford Bridge second leg at 0-0.
Mourinho is missing the banned Frank
Lampard and John Obi Mikel, but injured
quartet Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o, John
Terry and, most surprisingly, Petr Čech all
trained on Tuesday. The presence of any of
them would be a huge boost against an
Atlético side "excited and keen" according to
Diego Simeone despite captain Gabi's ban.
Will miss final if booked
• Chelsea: Willian, David Luiz
• Atlético: Emiliano Insúa, Koke, Juanfran
Chelsea
José Mourinho, manager
They are a good side. They are not a
counterattacking side. They are a good side.
They defend well. They score goals. They
win matches! They are in the semi-finals of
the Champions League and need two
victories to be Spanish champions.
Atlético were my direct rivals for three
seasons but I always felt a relationship of
respect with the club. I have respect for what
they are doing because to be in a Champions
League semi-final is not for every club, and
to have the possibility of winning the league
against Barcelona and Real Madrid is
something that deserves my respect.
It is a knockout game, a game of details, a
game where maybe one goal is the
difference. It is a game where everybody
needs to be at the top level. For the 90
minutes the players are more important than
the manager, I trust them a lot and that helps
me to be calm.
Against Paris we were in a position where
we had nothing to lose and no one really
expecting us to turn the result around. At the
moment, it is a 'clean' result, it is 0-0 and
the chances are equal. We are at home but a
score draw is good for them and not for us;
you cannot say who has the advantage.
Weekend result
Sunday: Liverpool FC 0-2 Chelsea (Ba 45+3,
Willian 90+4)
Schwarzer; Azpilicueta, Ivanović, Kalas,
Cole; Mikel, Matić, Lampard; Salah (Willian
60), Ba (Torres 84), Schürrle (Cahill 77).
• Chelsea closed to within two points of
Premier League leaders Liverpool thanks to
victory at Anfield where the Blues defended
as staunchly as in the first leg in Madrid.
Team news
Asked if Terry, who injured his ankle in the
first leg, will start, Mourinho said: "Of
course," while the captain himself added: "I
wouldn't put the team at any risk but I am
fully fit." Hazard, recovered from a calf
problem, is also "ready" according to
Mourinho.
Čech, thought to be out for weeks after
dislocating his shoulder in Madrid last week,
also trained and hinted he felt he was ready
to start ahead of Mark Schwarzer but the
manager stated: "His condition doesn't give
him a chance." It remains to be seen if Eto'o
has fully recovered from his knee injury.
Lampard and Mikel are suspended.
Atlético
Diego Simeone, coach
The confidence is always there, especially in
a semi-final of the Champions League
That's already a massive statement.

My
players are excited and keen. We know we'll
have to work hard tomorrow in a very difficult
game, and we'll have to put in an enormous
effort to get a positive result.
I'm not focusing on where we are at the
moment. I just want us to keep moving
forward, not on what we've achieved. I
usually let you guys talk about the progress
we've undertaken in the last three years of
success, but I'm not comparing Atlético
Madrid with Chelsea, a team who won the
Champions League two years ago. In the end
the best team will win. With our hard work
and our enthusiasm, we can do well and
maybe get a positive result.
I'm a football man. I respect different ways of
setting out your team. It's about what's the
best way for a specific game or a specific
opposition. To defend well is not easy, so I
congratulate teams who do that well. To
attack well isn't easy, either. So you have to
congratulate managers who get their sides
doing that. Football evolves. There is no
'best way'. It depends on the manager
spending time with his players, talking
different set-ups and tactics, different
approaches and styles.
But, in the end, it's important the team, the
club, the institution wins, regardless of how
it is achieved. There is no 'one way' to play
football. If we all played the same way, it
would be very boring. You can play ten at the
back or ten up front. What matters is the
result.
Weekend result
Sunday: Valencia 0-1 Atlético (Raúl García
43)
Courtois; Juanfran, Filipe Luís, Miranda,
Godín; Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Raúl García (Sosa
69, Alderweireld 90+3); Diego Costa, Villa
(Arda Turan 60).
• Victory this weekend extended Liga leaders
Atlético's unbeaten league run to nine
games, 14 fixtures in all competitions.
Team news
Defender Javi Manquillo is in the squad but
is not expected to feature due to a neck
injury. Gabi is suspended.
Match fact
Atlético have won only once in nine away
fixtures against English sides, losing four and
drawing four. Their sole success was a 2-0
win at Leicester City FC in the 1997/98 UEFA
Cup first round.
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