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| BENFICA ARE QUALITY, SO WE'LL NEED TO BE AT OUR MOST BRILLIANT TONIGHT
It is important that we are switched on from the start tonight to take full advantage of our first-leg lead and ensure we progress from this tie. Benfi ca have shown away to Manchester United, where they drew 2-2 in the group stage, that they have a lot to offer and we need to be on our game tonight, with a semi-final waiting for us.
We were excellent in Lisbon last Tuesday for the away leg. We defended well and worked hard from front to back, not letting them settle into their rhythm, and it paid off for us when we scored a great goal at the other end.
We looked dangerous when we attacked them with pace and Rami and Nando did brilliantly on the right wing to set the goal up for Sala, who finished to show exactly why he is so important to us. Now it's vital we don't allow ourselves to get complacent for one minute - we want to win this game as well and make sure we go through to another semi-final, but we know that it is not going to be easy tonight.
Benfi ca will be out to prove a point and to get back into the tie, so it is up to us to make the most of our home advantage and not let them get a foothold. At the weekend, we went to Villa Park at a really difficult time for everyone involved in the game, having heard the news that Stiliyan Petrov, Villa's captain, has been diagnosed with leukaemia.
He is a such a great guy, a really nice person and a strong character as well. The thoughts of everyone at Chelsea are with Stiliyan and his family as we wish him a full recovery. It was great to see he was at the game on Saturday and the supporters' ovation on 19 minutes was a wonderful moment.
On the pitch, both teams had to be professional and focus on the game. We were pleased with the
fighting spirit we showed to score two more goals after Villa had pegged us back at 2-2. Iva popped up with two important goals, Studger got himself on the scoresheet again and it was great to see Nando cap off a great performance with a goal - he really deserved that.
We now have to change focus from the league to Europe once again and make sure we complete the job here. Thanks for your support - you have been great as always and I know, on nights like this, we will always get great backing at Stamford Bridge.
Come on the Chels!
ChelseaFC |
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