Ramires snaps back at Chelsea style critics

Published on: 30 June 2012

Ramires has defended Chelsea's style of play for their run to the Champions League title.

The midfielder was responding to criticism from Brazilian legend Tostao.

Ramires said: "This anti-football is not Chelsea's style, we only played that way in those games against Barcelona.

"When we played against Napoli, we needed to score a goal and we did it, when almost nobody believed we would. If we tried to play as equals against Barcelona, we would have conceded five or six goals.

"We watched some videos of Barcelona and decided for that strategy. We knew we could beat them on counter-attack and we were happy for achieving that. If you don't play that way, you can't beat them.

"It's not only Chelsea that plays that way against Barcelona. We watched that game where Real Madrid beat them 2-1, playing the same way we did. Barcelona move the ball around a lot, tiring opponents that have to run after the ball. In our case, we scored that goal and then we took a defensive stance.

"If we always win playing that way, I'll choose to win."

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more