Chelsea ace says Blues will have their hands full trying to stop Manchester City's powerful midfielder in today's crucial FA Cup semi-final at Wembley
Chelsea’s Juan Mata on Saturday singled out Manchester City’s Yaya Toure as the man to watch out for in Sunday’s crucial FA Cup semi-final clash between the two teams at Wembley Stadium.
Manchester City’s Yaya Toure (inset) Chelsea’s Juan Mata. Pics/AFP
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The 24-year-old Spanish midfielder has had a fine season with the Blues wherein he has scored 18 times in all competitions. However, he was all praise for City’s powerful Ivory Coast midfielder on the eve of the all-important encounter.
‘One of the best midfielders’u00a0
“Yaya is one of the best midfielders in the world,” Mata said in an interview with British tabloid The Sun.u00a0“He is the complete player. He can defend, attack, score, dribble, he has great skills and he’s so tall and powerful. It is so difficult to defend against him.
We have very good midfielders too and will try to deal with him but not just him, all their team because City are a very, very good side.” u00a0Manchester City and holders Chelsea will both seek to transform underwhelming domestic seasons in tonight’s heavyweight match-up.
Both teams have failed to keep pace with Manchester United in the league, and although Chelsea have also reached the last four in the Europa League, the FA Cup represents City’s only realistic chance of ending the season with some silverware.
Benitez, Mancini confident
“We know it’ll be difficult, but it’s a semi-final in a massive competition," said Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez, an FA Cup-winner with Liverpool in 2006. City manager Roberto Mancini said: “To play at Wembley is fantastic.
For all the supporters there is a magic moment. Every trophy is important for every team. For us, more so, because we have this chance to go to the final and win the second FA Cup in three years.”u00a0
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