Didier Drogba wants to banish the memory of his Moscow red card by helping Chelsea through to their second successive Champions League final.
Last year he was part of the side that were defeated on penalties by Manchester United in the final, and Drogba was sent off in the closing stages of extra-time.
It meant he was absent for the penalty shoot-out and that nightmare is driving him on to make amends against Barcelona.
"You can see that the desire to get to Rome is strong, especially after losing the final last year," said Drogba.
"We have to concentrate on Barcelona because it's not an easy game. After that, if we qualify, we'll have a lot of time to think about the final.
"We really want to get there again and see if we've learned from the previous Champions League final. But, again, tonight's game is more important than thinking about the final."
He added: "If I had managed to score in Spain it would have been great, but Víctor Valdés made two good saves and I was frustrated.
"In these kind of games, if you manage to score, it makes a big difference.
"And as a striker you know that if you miss a chance one game, another might come along in the next. That is what you hope."
Related links:
Team
Personal
Also see:
Last year he was part of the side that were defeated on penalties by Manchester United in the final, and Drogba was sent off in the closing stages of extra-time.
It meant he was absent for the penalty shoot-out and that nightmare is driving him on to make amends against Barcelona.
"You can see that the desire to get to Rome is strong, especially after losing the final last year," said Drogba.
"We have to concentrate on Barcelona because it's not an easy game. After that, if we qualify, we'll have a lot of time to think about the final.
"We really want to get there again and see if we've learned from the previous Champions League final. But, again, tonight's game is more important than thinking about the final."
He added: "If I had managed to score in Spain it would have been great, but Víctor Valdés made two good saves and I was frustrated.
"In these kind of games, if you manage to score, it makes a big difference.
"And as a striker you know that if you miss a chance one game, another might come along in the next. That is what you hope."
Please subscribe to our RSS feed to receive more updates. You can also subscribe by Email and enjoy our latest posts sent directly to your inbox.
Related links:
Team
Personal
Also see:
