MX23RW : Friday, November 29 07:45:57| >> :120:13301:13301:

Roberto Di Matteo defends decision to drop John Terry

Di Matteo defends dropping Terry
© PA Photos
Roberto Di Matteo defends his decision to leave John Terry on the bench for tonight's Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has insisted that he has the made right decision in leaving John Terry out of his starting XI to face Shakhtar Donetsk tonight.

Terry has had to settle for a place on the bench for the Group E tie, with Di Matteo choosing to stick with a central defensive partnership of Gary Cahill and David Luiz.

The Blues boss believes that Terry needs to be eased in gently after missing the last four domestic matches following his ban for using racist language.

He told Sky Sports News: "John Terry has only played one competitive game in the last four weeks so he's lacking a bit of match practice, and we need everyone to be at the top of their game tonight.

"My players are all internationals so I'm not gambling. It's the right decision. JT is an important player for us and will continue to be so."

The Blues take on Shakthar at Stamford Bridge tonight in the Champions League, looking to avenge a 2-1 defeat to the Ukrainian champions a fortnight ago.

ID:53663: cacheID:53663:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2378:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Juan Mata celebrates scoring with Ashley Cole
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Dolphins
17-30
Packers
8pm
Raiders
@
Chiefs
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!