Chelsea FC striker Fernando Torres (28) believes that the team ethic inculcated by caretaker coach Roberto Di Matteo is key to overcoming Champions League opponents FC Barcelona. Since the arrival of the interim coach, Torres says that the team are “starting to enjoy things again, instead of suffering“.

“His message is clearly aimed at team spirit ‒ fighting,” Torres said. “You have to fight and then your talent will come through afterwards. When all of that comes together, you’ll overcome your opponent most of the time. But everybody understands what he [Di Matteo] wants ‒ it is all for the club. He came from this club, he played here, so he is from here.”

“It’s clear that Barcelona are a step ahead of all other clubs. They have reached the last five semi-finals, and that’s not easy at all, but this is football: the best team doesn’t always win. Xavi and Iniesta are players who dictate the rhythm of the game. When you play against them, you need to know that they are guiding the game. Many teams who play Barcelona think that you have to steal the ball from them, but I don’t think that’s possible. You have to use different weapons against them. If you want to steal the ball, you won’t manage it and you’ll get tired, and then create more space for your opponent,” the Spaniard suggested.

“This team [Chelsea] has slightly changed the way I play, because of their style,” he said when asked about his less than prolific scoring at Chelsea. “For me the most important thing is to score goals ‒ that’s what I practise every day ‒ but we all know that this season has been tough and the team is the most important thing. It would be a catastrophe to miss out on the Champions League [next season], and we must be prepared to do anything to achieve this. It doesn’t matter who plays, who scores, who gives the assists and who stays out. The important thing is that we are successful,” Torres concluded.

Source: UEFA; Image Credit: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images