Chelsea have been warned they will be beaten 'by skill' if they try any rough stuff to make today's title showdown a physical affair.
Manchester United were incensed when Chelsea's David Luiz escaped a red card for a hack at Wayne Rooney earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge.
And Nani has also been the victim of some bad challenges, most notably when Jamie Carragher caught him at Anfield.
Rough stuff: Jamie Carragher's notorious challenge on Nani
It has led the belief that United might not 'like it up 'em' and that Chelsea's strength could be decisive.
But Nani believes that any intimidation will work in United's favour.
'I don't like bad tackles but they don't scare me,' he said. 'Anyone who thinks that doesn't know me at all or my attitude to football.
'I am strong and I like the defenders to come to me because I can beat them. I have the skill.'
The Portuguese winger thinks the incident at Anfield, when he suffered a gashed leg, has led to a clampdown.
Not scared: Nani says he is ready for the rough stuff
He said: 'Defenders don't kick like they did a couple of months ago. They realise that if they kick a player, they will get a yellow or red card. But this is English football, you do get kicked but we enjoy playing here. It's the tackles that help make the game beautiful in England.'
Despite Chelsea's five-match winning run, Sir Alex Ferguson says United have the momentum after reaching the final of the Champions League.
'The European Cup is the trophy Chelsea wanted most and we knocked them out of that,' said the United boss. 'We've played them three times, beaten them twice and everyone knows what happened at Stamford Bridge [Chelsea won 2-1 but United felt they suffered from poor refereeing decisions].
'I think we've been the better team. We have to prove that again on Sunday. We're used to the title races going to the wire. The fans' fingernails are withered away anyway, but we should be all right with our experience.'
No comments:
Post a Comment