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Chelsea will risk all against Valencia
Andre Villas-Boas has insisted Chelsea will not abandon their attacking philosophy even though a 0-0 draw with Valencia will be enough to take them into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Chelsea go into the final game of the group stage knowing that defeat would end their interest in the competition. Valencia will have to go on the attack at Stamford Bridge, as they sit third in Group E, and it is likely that the crowd will witness an open affair.
"You've seen us play enough to know that we always take the initiative in a game," he said. "Valencia will want to get something because a goal represents a lot to them, and makes things even more difficult for us. But we will try and take the initiative again and won't change our strategy."
Chelsea made it back-to-back 3-0 wins when beating Newcastle at the weekend, but the pressure remains on the shoulders of Villas-Boas. He shrugged off a question about the game being the biggest of his career and played down Frank Lampard's gesture when withdrawn against Newcastle.
"Frank is a top professional and every player wants to spend more time on the pitch," Villas-Boas said. "But the manager decides things for the team. The manager makes the decision.
"It's irrelevant what the game represents to me. Our mindset is to continue in the competition, so we approach the game with maximum care and with confidence for tomorrow."
If Chelsea do bow out on Tuesday, Villas-Boas admits they will only have themselves to blame after conceding late goals to Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia and missing a penalty against Racing Genk.
"During this campaign of five games, we've done pretty well in terms of performances, but the small details have gone away from us in the last couple of minutes, at Valencia and Leverkusen," he said. "If that hadn't happened, we would have been sitting here in a familiar position, like in the past, and, most likely, having qualified."
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