Carlo Ancelotti insists he is not feeling the pressure ahead of their Champions
League clash with Apoel Nicosia despite their shock domestic defeat by Wigan on
Saturday. The Italian coach preferred to draw a line under the dismal display in
the Premier League and focus on maintaining a 100% record in Europe's top
competition.
Wigan handed Ancelotti his first taste of defeat in England in a 3-1 victory that
exposed Chelsea's weaknesses to startling effect. But Ancelotti has held no major
inquest despite senior players John Terry and the suspended Didier Drogba voicing
strong criticism of the performance.
Apoel are not expected to cause Chelsea many problems despite their 1-1 draw with
Atletico Madrid in the opening round of Group D, but Ancelotti is taking no chances.
"There is a good pressure," said Ancelotti. "This is an important match because
it's the second match of the group. We're now at the top and we want to maintain
that. We'll try to win, as normal. It won't be an easy game. Apoel are a good team
and have a lot of enthusiasm at this moment. They did a very good job in Madrid,
drawing with Atletico, and could have won there.
"We have a lot of respect for this team, but we have to put in a good match and
return to playing well and have a good direction after the Wigan game.
"We have analysed our mistakes, for sure, but I don't want to spend a lot of time
on this match. It was not a good match.
"Against Wigan it was not a good day. I want to see a good reaction.
Not a reaction: action. I want to see Chelsea play like we have in previous Premier
matches and also as we have in the Champions League.
"We have done nothing different. Usually we analyse every game together again on
a video. That's normal work for the team.
"We are not worried. We don't think about losing another game. Our thinking is to
work hard, to play well and to maintain our play every game. We lost one game, but
that can happen. We have to fix it for the next game."
Joe Cole and Deco will be on the bench and Ancelotti will not make a decision about
left-back Ashley Cole until after their final training session.
Apoel coach Ivan Jovanovic acknowledges Chelsea as one of the best teams in Europe
but insists his side could still give the Blues a scare. Apoel were expected to be
the whipping boys of Group D but their draw with Atletico demonstrated they have
other ideas.
Now Jovanovic wants his side to provide Chelsea with more food for thought as they
attempt to pull off one of the shock results of the group stages.
"Chelsea are the best team in the group, one of the top three or four teams in the
world, and they have a real chance of winning this trophy," said Jovanovic. "They
have an excellent coach who has already won the Champions League and, for sure,
they are the favourites in the game.
"We have to start the game well and try our best to play our own game, always hoping
for a good result. We'll have to exceed ourselves to achieve that, but we have done
it already many times before. We'll try to do it again. It's not made easier by the
fact that we have four players missing, two defenders and two attackers, but we have
to show we can cope without them and still challenge Chelsea.
"Chelsea have a much better team than ours, that's clear. They are an extremely
attacking team and an excellent unit. But they're also a team that can defend well
together and play well. They have star players, but the team as a whole is a star.
One of the strengths of our team is that we are excited to be playing in games like
this."
Download File Size:2.19 GB
|
