Chelsea boss demands players focus against Spartak Moscow
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has demanded complete concentration from his players when they take on Spartak Moscow in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, 3 November.
The English Premier League champions welcome Spartak to Stamford Bridge for the return fixture after defeating the Russians 2-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium — the scene of their loss to Manchester United on penalties
in the 2008 final — on 19 October.
With the Blues in good form in both the domestic and European arenas, Ancelotti has urged his players to maintain focus and pick up the three points that would all but ensure their progression to the last
16 of the competition.
He told UEFA’s official website that: "We are in a good position in both the Champions League and the Premier League, but we have to continue to do our best because when you are at the top everybody wants
to beat you.
'We want to attack'
"This is normal. (Spartak) played well in the second half of the game two weeks ago. We played too defensively and we want to play a different game on Wednesday."
Russia international Yury Zhirkov and Nicolas Anelka were the men who scored to give Chelsea victory in the previous tie. Following that game, Chelsea picked up wins over Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton
Wanderers to consolidate their lead at the top of the EPL and continue their string of strong results.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti added that he agreed with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s assertion that the Champions League featured a higher standard of football than the FIFA World Cup does.
He said that: "The Champions League is the best competition in the world; it shows better football compared to the World Cup because the teams have more possibilities to prepare the squad. For a club, it
is the best competition in the world."
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