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Pep Guardiola: 'Chelsea now favourites'

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola says that Chelsea are the favourites to progress to the Champions League final.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has said that Chelsea are now favourites to progress to the Champions League final after watching his side lose 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Didier Drogba's goal proved the difference between the sides in tonight's semi-final first-leg encounter, and the Spaniard believes that the Blues will now play a defensive game in the return leg.

"Chelsea are favourites now, but we have 90 minutes ahead and we must try to do our best to go through," he said during a post-match press conference.

"Our goal is to create 24 chances like we did today and score a goal. We must take same more risks, but I have told my players that if we created chances today, we will do it at Camp Nou, too.

"We know that in order to score, we need to create a lot of chances."

Guardiola predicted that Roberto Di Matteo's side will play with "10 Chelsea players in their area", but refused to criticise the Italian's cautious tactics.

He added: "I am not the one to say how they must play. They are the ones who must know how they have to play, but we cannot forget the fact that they have reached the Champions League semi-finals six times in the last nine years.

"Unfair result? No, this is football. You do not [win] with possession of the ball, if it was like this we would win all the time.

"You have to score goals and that is what we will try to do in the return leg."

The return leg will take place at the Nou Camp next Tuesday (April 24).

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