Schalke meaner at the back than Chelsea so far
24.10.2007
The Royal Blues have tremendous respect for Chelsea. "They have a host of qualities", said Mirko Slomka at today's media conference, before providing a couple of examples.
Although their start has not matched their own high standards, the Londoners have shown what a class side they are just recently. Having seen Chelsea's 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, Slomka has identified a number of strengths. "They are quick to switch from defence to attack. This usually results in dangerous through balls, not only to Didier Drogba, but also to the two wide men."
Chelsea are also very assured on the ball and have demonstrated qualities similar to the Royal Blues in recent weeks. "It's striking how few goals they concede. They look solid at the back again."
The statistics in this respect speak for the Royal Blues, however. Whereas Schalke have allowed their opponents just 16 attempts on goal in the current Champions League campaign, the best record of any side in the competition, the figure for Chelsea is 27. They are very efficient in attack, though.
This is an area where Slomka feels his side have room for improvement. Though the Royal Blues dominated the game in Rostock, for example, they failed to score a second goal. "We simply have to improve that aspect of our game. And Pete may well be the man for the job", said Slomka, grinning in the direction of Peter Lovenkrands.
The Schalke boss sees no advantage for his side in the fact that Avram Grant replaced Jose Mourinho a few weeks ago. "Mourinho has his own style, Grant has his own style." The 2-0 win in Middlesbrough showed that the team were capable of playing decent football under the new manager, he added.
But while Chelsea are under pressure to play attractive football at the moment, Slomka says this does not apply to his team. "It's a legitimate demand when it comes to Chelsea. They have players with special qualities. But our objective cannot be to want to play attractive football here. What the game's like is of secondary importance to us, we're here to get a result." Slomka did stress that his side would not set out to play a destructive game, however. "That's because we can't. We want to play football, I can assure you of that."
