London, April 23 (IANS) Barcelona will take on Chelsea in the second leg semi-final in Champions League football Tuesday at Stamford Bridge looking to overcome a one goal deficit.
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola feels this game will define their season.
Spanish giants Barcelona have lost two games in a row, losing to the Londoners 0-1 in the first leg and then losing 1-2 to bitter La Liga rivals Real Madrid Saturday that effectively ended any hopes of their retaining the league title.
“We will see on Tuesday whether we will pass this test, but I think the players will lift themselves up and look at the manner of how things will go against Chelsea,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by ESPN Soccernet.
“What happens against Chelsea will mark the rest of our season. Although the guys have not had long to recover, they have had setbacks like this before and risen to the challenge.”
The Catalans missed numerous chances at Stamford Bridge and Guardiola blamed a hectic schedule for his team’s misfortunes.
“We have opened up the field, we had opportunities…I think we had more chances than in other matches against Madrid. But these guys have four years of playing every competition possible and sometimes lack a little freshness.”
Barcelona will welcome back defender Gerard Pique after the SPanish international missed the games against Chelsea and Real Madrid due to an injury. Pique will face the difficult task of taking care of Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba, who scored the winner at Stamford Bridge.
