Ballack wary of Olympiacos threat

Michael Ballack maintains Chelsea FC's UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie with Olympiacos CFP is still "dangerously balanced" despite the Blues keeping a clean sheet in Tuesday's scoreless draw against the Greek side in Athens.

Tight contest
The German midfielder had an eventful night in the heart of the midfield battle at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium as Chelsea struggled to create clear scoring chances in the first-leg encounter. Ballack admitted he and his team-mates were disappointed not to have come home with an away goal, but fully expects a more attacking approach to yield the result that will ensure the London side progress to the quarter-finals in the return on 5 March.

More attacking
"I expect another very difficult 90 minutes in the second leg as they showed today that they are a good team," Ballack told uefa.com. "If one team makes a mistake it could be crucial. But we are very strong at home and we will take more risks. I think we will see a more attacking Chelsea when we meet Olympiacos again. It's always better when you score an away goal and the tie at the moment is still dangerously balanced."

Risk averse
Ballack, alongside Michael Essien and Claude Makelele, were made to work hard for the result by a spirited display from Panagiotis Lemonis's men and that accounted for a lack of goalscoring opportunities according to the German international. "The defences and midfields of both teams were very organised so there were not many chances in the game," said the 31-year-old. "Perhaps if we had taken more risks then maybe we could have created more opportunities, but in the end we finished with a clean sheet which is good for us. You think that this is an easy place to come to but in reality it's not."

Pair nurtured
Chelsea's talismanic pair, captain John Terry and midfielder Frank Lampard, started the game on the bench having only recently returned from injuries but Ballack insisted their absence from the starting lineup did not weaken the team. "They have been injured for a long time and it was a big game," he explained. "You have to be careful with injuries – I know because I was out for eight months. When you come back you can't play every game straight away. You need a little rest when you return and I think we have a good enough squad to deal with this."