Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho seemed unconcerned by the hostile reception that greeted him and his players on their arrival in Barcelona ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League encounter.
Chelsea arrive in Barcelona looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho was verbally abused by a small group of Barca supporters when he arrived in Spain on Sunday night, but the Chelsea boss said brushed aside the insults and insisted he only wanted to talk about football.
“This has nothing to do with the game. What goes on outside has nothing to do with the game,” said Mourinho.
Mourinho led his team off the plane and he explained that he was keen to take the flak and let the players focus on the match.
“After that the players were received without any kind of pressure … it was very easy for them.”
Mourinho, who last year boycotted a post-match conference here after Barca had come from behind to win 2-1 before losing 4-2 in London, identified Leo Messi as the man to watch.
“The best way to stop Messi I believe – when you have ten players – is to double mark him, put a second man close to him.
“When it’s 11 against ten you don’t have such a possibility,” said Mourinho, referring to the dismissal of full-back Asier Del Horno in the first game for a foul on Messi.
Asked to comment on Chelsea’s chances, Mourinho said: “We are losing 2-1 and the winning team is ahead with an emotional advantage on home ground. They have the advantage, but sometimes in football it’s possible to turn things around.”
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