Terry not troubled by penalty woe
Captain Terry slipped as he took a crucial shootout penalty against Manchester United in the Champions League final in 2008. Had he scored, Chelsea would have won the trophy they crave, but following his miss the Blues went on to lose.
However, Chelsea boss Ancelotti does not believe the former England skipper will be affected by his return to the stadium.
“John has great experience so I think what happened two years ago has no effect on him,” said Ancelotti.
“Everyone knows in football you can sometimes lose games. I lost a final in 2005 but you have to look forward. If you look forward with enthusiasm and character you can have revenge.”
An artificial pitch has replaced the grass on which Terry’s miss led to Manchester United’s third triumph in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, but Ancelotti is unconcerned by the surface.
However, the Italian refused to name his team until the players had trained on it.
“I can say nothing about this because we haven’t tried this kind of pitch,” he added.
Defender Alex, striker Didier Drogba, right-back Jose Bosingwa and England midfielder Frank Lampard have all been left behind at the club’s Cobham training headquarters.
Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow are reeling from the loss of influential midfielder Alex.
The Brazilian midfielder has been ruled out of the game after sustaining a thigh injury in Friday’s 3-0 win over Alania Vladikavkaz.
It is a bitter blow to Spartak, who – like Chelsea – boast an unbeaten record in this season’s Champions League campaign.
The Moscow side defeated Marseille 1-0 away and MSK Zilina 3-0 at home in their opening two games to lie second in the pool on goal difference to the English champions.
But Brazilian striker Welliton is expected to recover from a pulled thigh muscle in time to play along with Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady, who did not play against Alania because of a leg injury.
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