Chelsea’s Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic has said that he would very much prefer Chelsea to be the underdogs in the Champions League this season. Chelsea will have the chance to compete in the sixth semi-final in just nine years, but have the worst record thereafter. Chelsea have had just one final appearance in the Champions League, while they are yet to win the trophy itself.
Chelsea’s Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic has said that he would very much prefer Chelsea to be the underdogs in the Champions League this season. Chelsea will have the chance to compete in the sixth semi-final in just nine years, but have the worst record thereafter. Chelsea have had just one final appearance in the Champions League, while they are yet to win the trophy itself.
Branislav Ivanovic reckons that it has been due to the ‘favourites’ tag that has been imposed upon Chelsea up until now, but that will certainly not be the case when they face Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League 2011-12.
Chelsea had just won their first leg encounter with Benfica in the quarter-finals 1-0. The away goal coupled with the victory means that Chelsea are very much certain about qualifying for the Champions League semi-final where they will face Barcelona or AC Milan. Branislav Ivanovic hopes to seal the qualification into the semifinals on Wednesday night when Chelsea entertain Benfica at Stamford Bridge.
This has been a remarkable resurgence from Chelsea, who would have never thought of making it into the semifinals of the Champions League only a few months ago. However, the arrival of Roberto di Matteo as the Chelsea boss has made remarkable differences to the team, although they are still not the favourites to win the competition.
“I think Wednesday night is going to be a huge game for us – it is a big opportunity, big chance. We’ve got a great result, but it is not over because they don’t have anything to lose. They will come here to play. They played well in the first game, and we have to be careful – we have to be ready for this massive game,” said Ivanovic after the match against Benfica.