Deco warns of Chelsea 'tricks'

Deco says Barcelona must be ready for 'tricks and gamesmanship' from Chelsea.

Portuguese star Deco says Barcelona must prepare themselves for 'tricks and gamesmanship' from Chelsea ahead of Tuesday night's highly-anticipated UEFA Champions League showdown.

The two European titans are on collision course yet again, and the fevered build-up now associated with the ties between the champions of England and Spain shows no signs of dimming, as recriminations continue after the 2-1 first leg victory for Barca.

The flashpoint at Stamford Bridge was the dismissal of Asier Del Horno, as Blues boss Jose Mourinho accused Argentine superkid Lionel Messi of diving to get his player sent off.

However, Chelsea are not immune from such accusations and West Bromwich Albion boss Bryan Robson became embroiled in another major row for the West London side, as he raged at Didier Drogba for his histrionics on Saturday.

Mourinho has proved an expert at stoking the fires in a bid to exert a psychological advantage over his opponents, but Deco has now warned his Barca team-mates to beware Chelsea's 'tricks' both on and off the pitch.

"Our intention is not just to beat Chelsea, but to win the Champions League," Deco told The Sun.

"And to finish Chelsea off on Tuesday, the most important task for us is to avoid the tricks and gamesmanship we can expect from Mourinho and his players.

"They will want us to fall into their traps on and off the pitch, but we cannot afford that.

"We took a massive step ahead in London. But they are a complicated and tough team to beat.

"I've told my team-mates that we have to be ready for anything that Chelsea throw at us.

"And you saw immediately after the first game the stuff like Mourinho threatening to send a B team to Barcelona and asking for the first match to be replayed."

African Player of the Year Samuel Eto'o has echoed the warnings of the midfield schemer, insisting that Barca must put the controversial events of the first leg behind them and focus on the job at hand.

"We don't want polemics about the referee and what happened with Messi and Del Horno," said Eto'o.

"We have to concentrate on what we do and not respond to the provocation of Chelsea.

"We don't care about Mourinho, we just want to play our football."

Chelsea face a considerable task at Camp Nou, but Eto'o believes Barca must tighten up at the back if they are to stop a Blues resurgence.

The Catalans showed their defensive frailties on Saturday when Deportivo La Coruna scored two easy goals in Barca's 3-2 home win in La Liga.    

"We have to improve defensively," Eto'o added.

"We have to concentrate more because Chelsea will be ready to take advantage.

"We are in our stadium now, so we have to attack.

"When we are good it is very hard to beat Barcelona, if we play at the level we are capable of, it will be no problem."