Jose Mourinho is rarely lacking in confidence and the Chelsea boss is firm in his belief that his side can overturn a two-goal deficit in Tuesday night’s Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg with Paris Saint-Germain.
If Chelsea are to reach a seventh semi-final in 11 years, Mourinho's men must respond from the 3-1 first-leg loss at Parc des Princes, when his side were "dangerous to ourselves".
“I think we are going to win, really,” Mourinho said. “In the end of the two legs, I think we are going to score more goals than them.
“In this moment it’s 3-1, I think in the end it can be 4-3 or 5-4. If I don’t think that way I don’t go. And I go and I’m happy to go.
“I believe and my players believe. That’s the most important thing.”
Mourinho could be prepared to gamble on the fitness of Samuel Eto’o, the striker who has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury.
Eto’o has netted all 11 of his goals this season at Stamford Bridge and is trusted by Mourinho to rise to the occasion, perhaps in contrast to Fernando Torres, who was omitted from a strikerless starting XI in Paris last Wednesday.
“Fit, fit, I don’t think he is. But play, maybe,” the Chelsea boss said of Eto’o, a Champions League winner with Barcelona and Mourinho’s Inter Milan.
PSG have lost just once by two clear goals in their last 110 fixtures, while only two sides in Champions League history have overturned two-goal deficits, with Chelsea involved in both contests.
In 2000, Barcelona advanced at Chelsea’s expense, but in 2012 Chelsea overcame Napoli after extra-time in the last 16, en route to winning the European Cup.
Chelsea, who beat Stoke on Saturday after three losses in the previous five games, must replicate the Napoli result against PSG.
Reminders of the successful 2012 campaign are everywhere.
PSG forwards Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi were in the Napoli side beaten by the Blues, while Tuesday’s referee Pedro Proenca was also the man in the middle against Bayern in the Munich final.
There are numerous comparisons between PSG and Chelsea after the lavish spending of foreign owners.
PSG are two years into a project which began at Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took ownership in June 2004.
The Ligue 1 club, who are without talismanic forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (thigh), are determined to savour success in the competition sooner rather than later.
PSG manager Laurent Blanc said: “There is real ambition within this club to win the Champions League as quickly as possible.
“This can often take time. We’ve seen examples of that in England, with Chelsea, who despite investing an enormous amount of money, still took a long time to win the trophy.”
However, the visitors will not be intimidated at Stamford Bridge.
Blanc added: “We’ve not come here to suffer, we’ve not come here to have Chelsea just dictate the game to us and to dominate us.
“We know that the best approach to take is to have the ball and to create chances.
“It would be wonderful to be able to qualify by putting this philosophy into action.”
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Vidaamuyarchi
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Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
German intelligence warnings
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- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Running time: 81 minutes
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Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
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Total funding: Self funded
Match info
Uefa Nations League A Group 4
England 2 (Lingard 78', Kane 85')
Croatia 1 (Kramaric 57')
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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