Holding a 2-0 lead over FC Copenhagen, the pressure
should be off Chelsea - and misfiring striker Fernando Torres - in
the Champions League on Wednesday.
In five matches since his 50 million-pound (then $81 million)
move from Liverpool, the Spain striker has failed to score once.
And it was Nicolas Anelka's double in the first leg that put
Chelsea on the verge of ousting Copenhagen to reach the Champions
League quarterfinals.
"For the strikers it's important to score," Chelsea manager
Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday. "In my opinion (Torres) has played
well for the team and has done what I asked him to do on the pitch.
"The only problem is because he's a new player and he needs to
know our kind of play better but I think he will score."
Torres has struggled to adapt to life in the English capital
since leaving Liverpool on Jan. 31.
"I do not know London, have spent time looking for somewhere to
live and it's all been a bit of a mess," he was quoted in the
British media as saying. "What I want to do now is settle down, be
quiet, stop thinking about other things and enjoy my life."
Torres' teammates have no doubts that he will eventually
successfully linkup with Anelka and Didier Drogba.
"Fernando is great, he is a fantastic, world-class player of a
different quality," Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic said. "He
can give a lot of things to Chelsea. It's difficult at the moment
because he needs to adapt to a new club, but the players trust him
and he knows he can be important to us."
The arrival of Torres for a British-record transfer fee had been
expected to revitalize Chelsea's title defense. But the team is
fourth in the standings, nine points behind leader Manchester
United, after winning just two of its four league matches since
Torres arrived.
With Chelsea's FA Cup defense also over, winning the Champions
League for the first time offers the team's last realistic change of
ending the season with a title.
"For me it's the biggest success in football winning the
Champions League," Ivanovic said. "We have to use all our power to
stay and fight."
Copenhagen, which has a nine-point lead in the Danish standings,
has nothing to lose and will be going on the attack at Stamford
Bridge on Wednesday.
"It is stupid to go into the defensive when you're behind 2-0,"
Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken said. "If we score they will be
nervous. I can guarantee that. The key to the game is who scores the
first goal. If we do, it will be the inverted psychology no matter
how Chelsea has prepared for the game."
Should Copenhagen stage a fightback, Solbakken said "it will be
the greatest miracle in my football career."
In defense, Copenhagen's Mikael Antonsson and Oscar Wendt are
doubtful because of injuries, while Zdenech Pospech is suspended
after being booked for fouling Torres in the first leg.
