Čech awaits Chelsea's fate

Memorable tie
While the game with FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge will be remembered for its thrilling concoction of scintillating goals, attacking football and tension, it is all too easy to overlook the part played by the Czech international, who deserved man-of-the-match honours for a number of outstanding saves.

Possible rematch
Chelsea face the possibility of a rematch with Barcelona after failing to defeat Liverpool FC in last week's final fixture in Group G. As the second-placed team, José Mourinho's men are at risk of pulling out one of the sides who, like them, are rated among the favourites to be crowned European champions.

Second place
Juventus, AC Milan, Olympique Lyonnais and FC Internazionale Milano are other possible opponents but the Chelsea squad remain sanguine about what could lie in store. They recall that winning their group 12 months ago did not save them from having to negotiate one of the toughest ties in the last 16. "You never know how important your position in the group is," said Čech. "Whether it's better to be first rather than second won't become clear until the draw is made."

'To be feared'
However, Chelsea captain John Terry believes the English champions will be the team the others will want to avoid in the draw to be staged at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. "We are a team to be feared," he said. "There are sides out there we respect but we have confidence in ourselves."

Liverpool tie
While a point last week was enough for Liverpool to keep ahead of their English rivals, Chelsea knew only victory would enable them to win the section. It meant Terry and his team-mates did most of the forcing with Liverpool content to rely on the discipline and understanding of a defence that last weekend extended their run of fixtures without conceding a goal to ten.

Terrific save
Chelsea missed second-half chances to claim their first win against the Merseysiders in four UEFA Champions League meetings, but for a long while no one had a better opportunity to break the deadlock than John Arne Riise after Steven Gerrard had played him through. To the Londoners' rescue came Čech with a magnificent stop with his right boot.

UEFA award
Not for the first time, the incident demonstrated the high levels of concentration Čech can call upon when he is suddenly brought into action after a period of inactivity. It is part of a formidable repertoire that helped him carry off the Best Goalkeeper accolade in the UEFA Club Football Awards. "It's always nice to be recognised in awards for goalkeepers but it helps when you are playing for such a great team," added Čech. "My award came about because of my team-mates."

Mid-season slide
After starting the season with seven straight clean sheets, Chelsea had to endure a rare spell of uncertainty when they lost twice in six days, against Real Betis Balompié and Manchester United FC. They quickly put things right, however, and are now back to their effective best, posting five shutouts in a row. "Conceding goals is down to small details and we have now managed to solve those details," said Čech. "What exactly have we improved on? It's difficult to explain because there are so many ways."