Benitez ‘concerned’ ahead of Basel clash

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Rafael Benitez has warned his Chelsea players of the dangers of overconfidence as they plot a path to the Europa League final.

David Luiz’s injury-time free-kick put the Blues in control of their semi-final with Basel, giving them a 2-1 lead to defend in Thursday night’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.

But the Swiss side boast a talented attacking unit which caused Chelsea problems in the second half and also scored twice at Tottenham in the quarter-final first leg.

Benitez said: “My concern is that we will think we are already in the final.

“Everyone has to realise it will be tough. They will come trying to score, it’s the only way for them to qualify.

“They will be offensive, they will push – we saw that in the second half [in Basel] and they did it against Tottenham.

“I am concerned – but I am not afraid. We know we have a good team and we are so close to the final. We have to concentrate and make sure we don’t make mistakes.”

Benitez will risk a raft of suspensions to key players, with Luiz, John Obi Mikel, Ramires and Ryan Bertrand all one booking away from missing the final later this month.

Bertrand is almost certain to play, with Ashley Cole suspended, and Benitez insisted potential bans would not influence his team selection.

He said: “The main thing is to win and qualify for the final.

“We will do it with the best team possible for this game. It doesn’t matter how many bookings a player has so far.”

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