Di Matteo feels complacency is Chelsea’s biggest danger

The Blues, who became only the fourth club ever to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit when they beat Napoli to reach the quarter-finals, need only draw tonight’s second leg to avoid becoming the third side to crash out after a first-leg away win.

Chelsea are odds-on favourites to reach their sixth semi-final in nine years, having sealed a surprisingly straightforward 1-0 victory in last Tuesday’s game in Lisbon. Complacency would therefore appear to be the biggest threat to Di Matteo’s men setting up a mouthwatering tie against Barcelona or AC Milan.

The Italian coach said: “It is a danger. This is half-time and we’re leading 1-0. But a 1-0 lead is basically nothing. Our players are aware of this, and we’ll have to go into this game with the right attitude, the same attitude as against Napoli. Nothing has been done yet. We’re aware of that. We need to go and qualify for the next round.”

Benfica’s limp performance at the Estadio da Luz contrasted sharply with those in their Champions League campaign as a whole, with Jorge Jesus’ men having helped eliminate Manchester United in the group stage.

Di Matteo added: “This tie is far from over. They have scored in every away game of their Champions League season, so it’s a difficult task.”

The match will mark a month since the Italian succeeded the sacked Andre Villas-Boas, four and a half weeks that have witnessed an incredible turnaround in Chelsea’s fortunes.

Six wins and a draw from eight games have sparked something of a clamour for the former Blues midfielder to be given the job full-time, something that will only grow tonight unless disaster strikes. Di Matteo continued to snub questions about his own future and, asked why he was so reluctant to declare he wanted to manage such a fantastic club full-time, he said: “It’s a fantastic club, I’ll agree with you on that. I need to win games, it’s as simple as that. It’s a results business and that’s all that matters.”

Ending Chelsea’s agonising wait for Champions League glory - something that looked an impossibility a month ago - would make Di Matteo’s claim to the job impossible to ignore. But he said: “I don’t think about that. I have no time to think about that anyway. I’m full on in my work all day to prepare the team tactically and physically for the next game. There’s so little time between games as well, so I haven’t really sat down and thought about that.”

l Chelsea goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon was yesterday handed a one-match ban by Uefa after his sending-off in their quarter-final first leg at Benfica. The Frenchman will be unable to carry out his duties tonight, having been found guilty of “improper conduct” by European football’s governing body. Lollichon was sent to the stands in the closing minutes of last Tuesday’s 1-0 win at the Estadio da Luz.