Elated Di Matteo hails Chelsea

BARCELONA – Roberto Di Matteo hailed the phenomenal spirit of his players after Chelsea completed the latest in a line of stunning fightbacks to upset Barcelona and advance to the Champions League final.In one of the most remarkable nights in the illustrious competition’s history, a Chelsea side reeling from the dismissal of captain John Terry came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and seal a 3-2 aggregate win over the Catalans.Brazilian midfielder Ramires and striker Fernando Torres scored the goals which secured Chelsea’s passage to the Munich final after Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta had put Barcelona in the driving seat.But Chelsea owed everything to a heroic collective effort from a battle-hardened group of players who once again managed to pull victory from the jaws of defeat.“It was an incredible game with all the events that happened,” Di Matteo said. “I am very happy and pleased for all the players because they deserved this moment.“We’ve had a difficult season; they always seem to dig something special out when they need to. I think that’s part of the DNA of these players.“Barcelona are the best team in the world. They are amazing. They have some of the best players in the world as well in their team.“The way we played and defended and we just showed a lot of desire to reach the final and go through. We had a little bit of luck as well, which you need but I think to win the trophy, you need that.”Di Matteo has presided over a remarkable transformation in Chelsea’s fortunes since he took over following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas in March.

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Elated Di Matteo hails Chelsea