Chelsea v Benfica: Roberto di Matteo says tie is far from over
Chelsea’s interim manager says that his team are taking nothing for granted as Chelsea try to sweep Benfica aside to claim their sixth Champions League semi-final appearance in nine years.
The London side go into the match with Benfica at Stamford Bridge tonight with a 1-0 lead from the first game in Portugal last week thanks to Salomon Kalou’s late winner.
With the prospect of a semi-final against Barcelona for the winner, Di Matteo was keen to emphasis that the tie is not over yet.
“This tie is far from over, they have scored in every away game in this Champions League season so we know it’s a difficult task ahead for us tomorrow night,” Di Matteo said.
“And we have to approach this game like the Napoli game,” he added, referring to Chelsea’s 4-1 victory against the Italian side in the last round which overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit.
Chelsea have lost just once in eight matches since Italian Di Matteo replaced sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas last month.
Di Matteo credited his results to improved confidence.
“I think the fact that we are winning games as well improves the confidence within every individual player and then with the group.
“I keep communicating with the group and with the players and we hope that allows the players when they play to play at the highest possible level and to the best form they can,” he added.
Full story & video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/9185224/Chelsea-v-Benfica-Roberto-di-Matteo-says-tie-is-far-from-over.html