SharetheMatch ambassador Andy Gray was talking exclusively to SWLondoner…
Chelsea fans are wrong if they think they have got the easier tie against Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League – I can see the Germans causing the London club more problems than Spanish giants Barcelona or Real Madrid.
I really do believe Chelsea would have been better off facing Real because I think Bayern are one of the most underrated teams in the world.
Chelsea’s comeback against Barca rates as one of the very best of all time but I think in some ways the sending off of skipper John Terry helped them because it meant they had to just sit on their 18-yard box.
It is incredibly tough to break a team down like that and if their ‘A’ game isn’t working then Barcelona don’t really have a ‘B’ game – so they were frustrated.
Because it will be 11 versus 11 in the final it will force Chelsea to try and win the game and that could cause them issues on the break.
Playing Bayern in their own backyard is a really tough prospect and I think they have the tools to really hurt Chelsea.
Where Barcelona didn’t have a plan B to break down Chelsea, Bayern certainly have it in the shape of Mario Gomez.
Barcelona don’t have a man who can physically intimidate opponents and someone you can play balls into to try and get out of a desperate situation because they have never really been forced to play that way.
Gomez is an expert striker at feeding on scraps and whoever is playing at centre-back for Chelsea will leave with a few bruises after playing against him.
But I think the real heart of the Bayern team is their midfield players who get through an awful lot of work – they are very fit.
They don’t have players like Xabi Alonso or Sami Khedira who sit there and don’t really get goals.
You can see Bastian Schweinsteiger or Toni Kroos getting goals and Thomas Muller who will probably come in for Luis Gustavo scores pretty regularly.
So they have many more threats than Real Madrid – yes Real have Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema but apart from that there are not many goals in the side.
So I certainly would be more concerned about playing Bayern Munich.
Andy Gray is an official ambassador for Sharethematch.com – Football’s Social Network. Available now for FREE online or at the App Store; http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/share-the-match/id450784289?mt=8
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