Defeat not end of world

Koen Freriks

27 april 2006, 00:08

Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti insists a Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona on Wednesday would not be a "disaster." Ancelotti leads his side into the Camp Nou looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg reverse, but feels he is under no pressure to see off the Liga champions. "It's the most important game of the season, but it would not be a disaster if Barcelona go through," claimed Ancelotti, who saw his side so dramatically beaten in last season's final by Liverpool.

"We do want to go to Paris though. That's the target we set ourselves after Istanbul. We just have to make one last effort." Ancelotti's preparations for the tie have been far from smooth with last weekend's Serie A win over Messina leaving several key players injured.

Strikers Andriy Shevchenko and Pippo Inzaghi are expected to shrug off their knocks, while Brazilian playmaker Kaka is also poised to play despite a badly bruised thigh. But defender Alessandro Nesta faces a last-minute fitness test before Ancelotti can settle on a back four, with Jaap Stam moving into the middle and Cafu slotting into the Dutchman's right-back position should Nesta fail to make it.

But Ancelotti says the disruption has not affected the mood in the camp. "The lads are buoyant. They know they are on the verge of making history by reaching a third final in four years," said Ancelotti, who led Milan to a Champions League shoot-out win over former club Juventus in 2003. "But to do this we have to put right the mistakes we made in the first leg by transforming the good 60 minutes we played into a full 90 minutes."