Yakin remaining calm before Chelsea clash

Basel coach, Murat Yakin, is keeping his feet firmly on the ground ahead of his side’s Europa League semi-final first-leg tie against Chelsea.

While Yakin, who used to play for the Swiss champions, is happy to talk about the prospect of reaching the final, he says that is simply because it is just two games away, rather than down to any sense of overconfidence.

“If we talk about the final, it is because we are now very close,” he told reporters.

“I have tried to present my vision to the team, that I hoped could lead the way to the final in Amsterdam, and now we are so close that we could reach it with two matches.”

Basel have knocked out illustrious opposition so far in the competition, including Tottenham in the last round, and Yakin feels that this is down to their ability rather than good fortune.

He explained: “I have a team that grew from match to match, and we have gotten this far not just by being lucky. We have played some good matches at home that we deserved to win.”