The Rock says Chelsea will win through

Last updated : 23 February 2005 By Paul Lagan
Marcel Desailly is confident that the Blues will not crumble tonight in the Nou Camp against Barcelona in the same way they did the last time the clubs met in Spain.

On that sad occasion five years ago, Chelsea, holding a 3-1 advantage from the first leg were defeated 5-1 to make a miserable exit from the Champions League.

The former Chelsea skipper, now playing in Qatar for Al-Gharafa has said: "Things will be totally different this time.

"Now everyone knows about Chelsea and is a little bit afraid of them. They are one of the major clubs in Europe and the pressure will be on Barcelona.

Mentally they are much stronger, even though a lot of their players are young." he added.

"We made some mistakes at the Nou Camp in 2000 - a lot of them were individual mistakes.

"It would not happen now. This team has a new motivation and a different mentality."

"The whole of Chelsea is different now - the chairman, the manager and all the players," he said.

"Everything is new and there is a huge determination to win.

"Since that game in 2000, Chelsea have gained more experience in Europe and were very close to reaching the Champions League final last season."