UK: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Chelsea expect Liverpool to take the direct approach in their Champions League semi-final

Chelsea want to scare Liverpool with their direct football in Tuesday's (May 1) Champions League semi-final, coach Jose Mourinho said. Chelsea need only a draw at Anfield to reach the final in Athens on May 23, against Manchester United or AC Milan, after winning last week's first leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho, who has lost striker Andriy Shevchenko to a groin injury picked up in training, does not think either team have the advantage going into the match, despite his side still fighting for the Premiership title with Manchester United: "1-0 is a lead and in the knock-out stage it is a good lead, but we have 90 minutes to play," he said. "Is the opponent home? Is the team with one week to rest and to prepare for this game against another team who had to play two days ago, and had to fight physically, mentally, in a title race, favourite? I don't see a team to be favourite." Chelsea know they will be in for an electric atmosphere at Anfield, similar to the one in which Liverpool beat them 1-0 to reach a victorious Champions League final two years ago. Though he accepted the home advantage, Mourinho said: "The players have a lot of motivation and they are more than ready to face the circumstances. "I think you couldn't have a bigger motivation than playing in a Champions League final." Mourinho believes his Spanish counterpart will hope to exploit the absence through injury of Chelsea's central defender Ricardo Carvalho, whose place is expected to go to Michael Essien. "Rafa is a good manager, he has a player with two metres, he knows Carvalho is not playing," Mourinho said. " I think he is intelligent to play a direct game to Peter Crouch." "I think that's obvious and we know that. We have to do our best and part of our game must be that when we have the ball, to scare and score."

ITN Source | May 2, 2007

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