Looking at the Blues ahead of tonight’s first-leg last 16-match with Paris Saint-Germain we thought we would look at why Jose Mourinho and Chelsea can travel to Paris confident that they can not only get by the French champions but also progress to the final in Berlin and win the competition.
After getting knocked out of the FA Cup Chelsea and more importantly Jose Mourinho had an entire week to prepare his team for tonight’s match at the Parc des Princes, while his counterpart in Paris Laurent Blanc and PSG had a tough match on Saturday drawing 2-2 with Caen that saw Les Rouge-et-Bleu lose Serge Aurier, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Moura to injuries that will see them miss the match with Chelsea, and if that was not enough they could also be without centre-back Marquinhos who will undergo a late fitness test.
Speaking about the injuries to his team Laurent Blanc only said that he hopes it will bring them together and make them more determined, saying at his pre-match press conference:
“When things go against you, you try to see the positive. It could bring the team together; strengthen the bond between the players and the staff and the medical staff — who are really being tested right now — and the fans.
“The fans need to understand that we’re struggling with the squad now. I hope that chemistry will be there tomorrow as we’re up against a really good team.”
If Chelsea can at least score an away goal and come home with a draw, you have to fancy them as favourites to move onto the next round.
Chelsea has of course won the Champions League in 2012 beating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties while Roberto Di Mateo was in charge of the club, but now in Jose Mourinho they have a manager who first won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, before winning it again in 2010 with Inter Milan, and should the Portuguese manager win this year with Chelsea he will be the first manager to have won the competition with three different teams.
For all intents and purposes Chelsea has already locked up the Premiership title, and as they advance further in the competition they will be able to rest key players for their Champions League matches just so long as they can contain the gap between themselves and second placed Manchester City.
And with just the Capital One Cup final to worry about when they play Tottenham on Sunday March 1st they should after that be well placed to concentrate on winning the Champions League.
