Chelsea look to finish job
Blues host Swiss side FC Basel in Europa semis second leg with a 2-1 advantage
Paris, May 1: Chelsea will be looking to keep their hopes alive of their marathon season ending with a trophy as Rafael Benitez’s men host FC Basel in their Europa League semifinal second leg clash at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
The English Premier League outfit lead 2-1 from last week’s semifinal, first leg in Switzerland and need only avoid defeat in west London to be assured of a place in the May 15 final in Amsterdam.
But the games are coming thick and fast for the Pensioners who must be running on fumes having already played an incredible 63 times this season.
No other team has played in as many competitions as Chelsea, with one off matches such as the English Community Shield and European Super Cup added to the the World Club Championship, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup, as well as their Premier League bread and butter, making up an epic campaign.
If they get past Basel, they’ll finish the season on 69 matches.
Benitez has done his best to keep things fresh by rotating certain players, yet six of his squad have made at least 55 appearances, and that’s not including internationals.
While outside observers may have been baffled by Benitez’s rotation policy which has included such club stalwarts as Frank Lampard and John Terry, no-one could deny that Chelsea’s players have had a most demanding schedule.
In the last month they played 10 times, an average of a game every three days.
While they remain favourites to defeat the Swiss side, who have already progressed further in European competition than ever before, Chelsea must surely be feeling the effects of their gruelling programme.
And they have made no secret of the fact that the Europa League is secondary to their prime objective of finishing in the Premier League’s top four and qualifying for the Champions League next season.
In the six days following the visit of Basel, Chelsea must travel to Manchester United and then host Tottenham Hotspur in two crucial league fixtures that could determine their CL qualification. It means they could be forgiven for keeping more than just one eye on those fixtures when Basel are in town.
On Sunday they looked comfortable in beating Swansea 2-0 at home, although Lampard was quick to point out that result was just a means to an end. “What’s more important is for the club to qualify for next season’s Champions League, and we’ve also got a Europa League final to try to get to and win,” he told chelseafc.com. — AFP