Mourinho on verge of joining managerial elite
Chelsea hosts PSG in Round of 16 as Champions League action heats up
After winning the English League Cup to end a trophy drought of nearly three years, Jose Mourinho now has his sights set on joining Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley as the only managers to win the Champions League or European Cup three times. Chelsea will first have to get past Paris Saint-Germain in its last- 16 return leg.
Here are some other things to know about this week’s Champions League matches:
CHELSEA-PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
Since the 1- 1 draw in the first leg, Chelsea has strengthened its position at the top of the Premier League and won the English League Cup, setting up the prospect of a domestic double. Adding the Champions League title to the haul is the hardest job for Jose Mourinho, but he has al- ready done it twice and Branislav Ivanovic’s away goal in Paris three weeks ago has given Chelsea the advantage heading into the second leg. Chelsea has midfield anchorman Nemanja Matic back from a ban — he should shrug off an ankle injury — and the squad was able to rest this weekend, having already been eliminated from the FA Cup.
PSG heads into the game full of confidence after Saturday ’s 4- 1 home win against Caen. The team is unbeaten in 14 games.
REAL MADRID-SCHALKE
Real Madrid will welcome the arrival of Schalke on Tuesday as it looks to rebound from a second straight stumble that has cost it the lead of the Spanish league to rival Barcelona.
Madrid holds a commanding 2- 0 advantage from its victory in the first leg in Germany, and the reigning European champions will be looking to jump- start an attack that stalled in a 1- 0 loss at Athletic Bilbao over the weekend. Even prolific scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has been stymied of late. The Ballon d’Or holder failed to get off a shot on goal against Bilbao and has only scored five times in 2015. Strike partner Gareth Bale has fared even worse, failing to score in eight straight matches.
BAYERN-MUNICH-SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Coach Pep Guardiola gave his team Sunday off following a hardearned 3- 1 win in Hannover that gave Bayern an 11- point lead in the Bundesliga again.
“Hannover were superb in defence and that’s why it was difficult for us,” Guardiola said after the match. Director Matthias Sammer said he expected a tough match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
“We have to produce a top performance. It’s going to be very, very difficult. But we are ready,” he said.
Guardiola said the match against Donetsk is “a final, we must win.”
FC PORTO-BASEL
FC Porto, a two- time European champion, has a better continen- tal pedigree than Basel, though the Portuguese club has reached the quarter- finals just once since clinching its last title in 2004.
Basel’s only quarter- final appearance, meanwhile, was 41 years ago.
Porto is unbeaten in its last eight European home games. It was also undefeated in the group phase — a feat matched only by Real Madrid and Chelsea. Jackson Martinez will be Porto’s target man. He has 17 goals after 24 rounds in the Portuguese league and is on course to be the domestic tournament’s top scorer for the third straight season.