Maxi Rodriguez reveals Atletico Madrid will be treating their clash with Chelsea like a cup final.
Atletico midfielder desperate to get Euro campaign up and running
Maxi Rodriguez says he and his Atletico Madrid team-mates will be treating their UEFA Champions League clash with Chelsea like a cup final.
Atletico travel to Stamford Bridge with one point from their opening two Group D matches leaving them bottom of the table.
The Spaniards have struggled for form this term, winning just once in La Liga and were thumped 3-0 by Osasuna at the weekend.
Rodriguez knows that Atletico must get a positive result at Chelsea if they are to keep alive hopes of reaching the knockout stages, but the Argentine is also aware of how tough Chelsea will be.
"For us this match is a final because defeat in London will be awful," he said.
"One point from three matches and with the strong nature of the other teams in the group we will need a miracle in the other matches.
"These kind of matches are illustrious for any footballer. Chelsea are a tough team and they have quality but our challenge is to win. That is the objective for Atletico.
"The main battle will be to control and dominate the midfield. With people like (Frank) Lampard, Deco and (Michael) Ballack it is necessary to increase our work, but we are prepared."
The former Espanyol ace is confident that Atletico can cause the Blues a number of problems of their own with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan up front.
"Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan are high on confidence for tonight and I am convinced they will offer the best match possible at Stamford Bridge," he added.
