Champions League Wednesday: Marseille versus Chelsea
The Group F fixture between the French and English team, will take place on Wednesday night at the Stade Velodrome. Didier Deschamps side sits on the second position in their Group in the UEFA Champions League table with nine points from five games. The
Blues have attained fifteen points, managing remarkably well to top their group considering their poor performance in the English Premier League.
Chelsea have slumped into the third position in the League, having drawn with mid table team Everton during the weekend’s fixtures. The Premier League title defenders’ consecutive draws and losses enabled their local rivals Arsenal to climb to the summit
and the North London team will be playing a fixture against Partizan Belgrade tonight in their Group H match. Both Chelsea and runners up Marseille have secured progression into the next knockout round of sixteen in the competition for the European elite.
All four spots in the Group F table have been decided, with Spartak Moscow securing the third position which enables them to play in the next season of the Europa League. The Russian side face bottom of the group, MSK Zilina in the other fixture from tonight’s
list of games. Marseille will find security in their superior goal difference of twelve, if they manage to lose against the London team and if the Russians beat the Slovaks to claim the three points needed to match the number of points of Marseille.
The French will look to capitalise on the English club’s poor run in the League. The Stamford Bridge club have experienced only one win from six of their previous games in the League. Surprisingly the teams which have done the damage are all placed in the
middle of the Barclays Premier League table such as Everton (1-1), Newcastle (1-1), Birmingham (1-0) and most infamously Sunderland (0-3).
The Blues manager, Carlo Ancelotti let the press know his feelings of his sub standard side’s defeat by saying “I am disappointed and angry, not just because of the result.” The Italian boss went on to explain his team’s performance had gone downhill in
the second forty five minutes after playing “good football” in the first half. Ancelotti went on to state the definite reason of the downfall, that “We played the long ball. We were a little bit scared. I didn't like this.” He dismissed claims of his side
suffering from a concentration problem, instead assigned hard work as being the only cure for his team. "We have to do better day-by-day on the training ground, in the training sessions. We have to work harder than we are doing. This is the way I know to move
on in a difficult moment.” The former AC Milan manager also admitted that he certainly does not take the problems lightly, by exclaiming "I am worried yes, because we haven't won a lot of games.”
The Blues boss has looked towards the Marseille game as “a possibility to move on quickly from this moment.” Ancelotti has dismissed speculation that he will not take this game seriously by explaining “We want to put out the best line-up possible because
we consider the game important for our confidence and to come back and play our football.” He revealed that he conducted a “private and confidential” meeting with his players in the light of their current crisis.
The Stade Velodrome focus will rest upon Chelsea’s striker Didier Drogba, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Marseille. The Ivorian international arrived to the French club from Guingamp, and has eighteen Ligue One goals and eleven in the European competition
(2003-2004) to his name in just one year. Drogba has spoken fondly about his former club. The told the press in Marseille on Tuesday that “I am glad to be here and see some familiar faces. I know that everything will be good tomorrow (Wednesday).” The thirty
two year old spoke of his temptation to conclude his career at the French club but reinstated his loyalty to the Blues by saying “I can see myself ending my career at Chelsea."
The Marseille boss, Didier Deschamps returned the kind words addressed to his club by the Ivorian, by saying "He's someone everyone would want to have in their team.” He went on to shower praise on Drogba but concluded by calling him “an opponent”.
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