Sheva to raise goal standard

By Paolo Menicucci

The scorer of 17 Serie A goals last term as well as the decisive penalty that won the UEFA Champions League for AC Milan, Ukrainian international Andriy Shevchenko has been unusually absent from the goalscorers' charts in Italy this season.

Goalscoring touch
As he prepares for the second leg of the Champions League first knockout round tie against AC Sparta Praha, following a goalless draw in Prague a fortnight ago, the 27-year-old is aware that rediscovering his goalscoring touch on Wednesday night would be a massive boost to Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Pressure on
Milan have registered just four goals in seven Champions League games this season, with Shevchenko - who has scored 84 times since his €26m move from FC Dynamo Kyiv in 1999 - managing only one of them. For the striker and his team, the pressure is on.

Mental approach
"From a psychological point of view it's a very difficult match, even if we have more quality than them," Shevchenko told uefa.com. "We have to get our mental approach to this game right. Sparta can defend well and we have to win at home after the 0-0 in Prague. It won't be easy."

Sparta threat
In the first leg, the forward missed a couple of good chances to grab an important away goal - something that could yet have a bearing on the tie. "It will be a different kind of game compared to the first leg," said the No7. "If we had scored an away goal, it would have been much easier. They can be dangerous with their counterattacks but even in Prague we showed we can create many chances to score."

Serious opponents
Aware that Sparta have already ruined S.S. Lazio's chances of progress in the Champions League, Shevchenko insists that Milan will not be underestimating their Czech opponents at the San Siro. "We have to be careful because if we concede a goal, everything will become much more complicated for us," he said.

Good form
However, 'Sheva', who became the first foreigner to top the Serie A goalscoring charts in his debut season of 1999/00, is confident the Italian league leaders will reach the quarter-finals. "We have been playing really well recently and obviously I'm confident we will manage to qualify," he said.

Prague prestige
The Rossoneri might be favourites, but Shevchenko is convinced that Sparta will be fired up as they face the European champions. "I don't think they have the goal of reaching the final, but for them, every round is important and prestigious so they are extremely motivated," he said.

No margin for error
Nevertheless, the player who received the Ukrainian Order of Merit from president Leonid Kuchma for his performances in last season's Champions League, is sure that Milan will be at least as motivated as their opponents. "We really want to confirm the great result we achieved last season, so we cannot afford to make any mistakes, starting from this match," he said.