Barca midfielder Fabregas brands Chelsea as 'long ball' team ahead of CL showdown

London, Apr 18(ANI): Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has raised few eyebrows ahead of their first leg of the Champions League semi-final clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, as he branded the Blues a ' long ball' team.

Former Arsenal captain Fabregas claimed that since replacing Andre Villas-Boas with interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea had gone back to the direct strategy, which is built around target-man Didier Drogba.

Fabregas also stressed that Chelsea is a dangerous team and could provide ample amount of problems to Barcelona on Wednesday.

"With Villas-Boas, they tried to have the ball a lot more - not play so many balls long and not seek out the second ball quite so much," The Daily Mirror quoted Fabregas, as saying.

"They've gone back to the type of Chelsea that was more successful a few years ago with Di Matteo - playing on the counter, trying to hit the target man, sitting back and using that No 9 as a reference point," he added.

"They are a very, very dangerous team. They are like motorbikes now - faster, quicker to get the ball forward. Get after it and cause problems," he said. (ANI)