Our gladiators can topple Barcelona
Posted Sunday, April 22, 2012 by The Sun
RAM 'N BUST ... Ramires vows Chelsea will give their all to see off Barca
RAMIRES insists the might of Barcelona can be toppled by Chelsea’s ‘gladiators’.
The midfielder sounded the rallying cry, roaring: “They don’t intimidate me, Barca are not invincible.”
And after keeping another clean sheet in a battling display at Arsenal, boss Roberto Di Matteo echoed Ramires’ words and told his troops to unleash hell on the European giants.
Chelsea take a 1-0 lead into Tuesday’s crunch Champions League semi-final second leg at Barcelona’s very own colosseum, the Nou Camp.
Brazilian ace Ramires said: “This is a game for gladiators, we can eliminate Barcelona.
“The pressure will be on Barcelona. They have to score and we can exploit that.
“We have showed it at Stamford Bridge. We have taken the first step — but our advantage is minimal.
“They are favourites. This is the most important match of my career.
“Our dream is to play in the final in Munich and we are just 90 minutes from that.”
And Di Matteo insists his squad are good enough to defend their lead.
He labelled his team brilliant for snatching a point at the Emirates and is convinced Chelsea have the strength to triumph in their fourth massive match in the space of nine days.
Di Matteo says doubts remain over the fitness of Didier Drogba but few at Stamford Bridge expect his knee problem to keep him out.
Drogba, the match-winner in the first leg, was missing yesterday and was one of eight Chelsea changes.
Di Matteo said: “We don’t have many injuries. If we can continue to work like that, there’s enough quality in this squad to deal with it.
“This draw is a point gained for us towards that fourth spot in the Premier League. We’re happy with the point away in our third game in six days. It was a brilliant performance.”
Chelsea toppled Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final just three days before their first-leg triumph against Barca.
As for Drogba facing the Spanish champions, Di Matteo said: “At this moment of time, I don’t know.
“We’ll have to assess tomorrow. He has an injury on his knee, so it’s whether the progression on this injury will be quick enough.”
Ramires (right) says Drogba can be the main man again.
He said: “Didi is a forward who always responds in the most complicated moments.
“He showed it with the first goal against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi and the winner against Barcelona. He is a player I would always want in my team.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claimed Chelsea were fortunate to escape with a draw.
Robin van Persie forced two good saves from Petr Cech and hit a post. Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny also headed against the bar.
But the big talking point was in the 80th minute when Van Persie went down in the box under Gary Cahill’s challenge.
It was a 50-50 decision with defender Cahill admitting he was worried ref Mike Dean would point to the spot.
He added: “I didn’t think it was a penalty. He turned to spin in behind and went against me, so it would have been harsh.”
But Wenger said: “We should have had a penalty. At the end of the game, we had the chances and they had zero.
“I cannot remember them having one chance. Having said that, it was a bit of a strange game as I thought it would be open.
“But they decided to lock up the game and catch us on the break, with two wide players who are quick, and Torres.
“Going forward we didn’t find our quick passing game.
“The regret is that we played with the handbrake offensively and not as cleanly as we can.”
Wenger reckons Chelsea opted for tactics that will suit them against Barca.
He added: “They had three defensive midfielders in the middle, so it was difficult to play through there — and it was very physical as well.
“They adopted the system they played against Barcelona. They wanted to practise for Tuesday night.”
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