Blame rests on us, says Villa-Boas

Manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Chelsea only have themselves to blame for putting their Champions League campaign in the balance.

The English Premier League outfit need at least a draw from their Group E clash with Valencia on Tuesday to avoid failing to qualify for the last 16 for the first time in their history.

Chelsea have thrown away the lead in all three group-stage away games, and Villas-Boas knows those results have not been good enough.

“We just have ourselves to blame,” the Portuguese coach said.

“During this campaign of five games, we’ve done pretty well in terms of performances, but the small details have gone away from us in the last couple of minutes, at Valencia and Leverkusen.”

“If that hadn’t happened, we would have been sitting here in a familiar position, like in the past, and, most likely, having qualified.”

Despite the scenario ahead of Chelsea, it looks unlikely that Villas-Boas will send his side out with a more defensive approach against La Liga club Valencia – even though they could progress with a scoreless draw at Stamford Bridge.

“You’ve seen us play enough to know that we always take the initiative in a game,” he said.

“Valencia will want to get something because a goal represents a lot to them, and makes things even more difficult for us.”

“But we will try and take the initiative again and won’t change our strategy.”