Di Matteo played cards close to his chest

Roberto Di Matteo admits he didn't tell his Chelsea players which of them were a booking away from missing the Champions League final.

The interim boss insisted he had no regrets about deliberately hiding the truth from them prior to the second-leg in Barcelona, despite seeing four of them suspended for next month's Munich showpiece. Di Matteo's extraordinary revelation came in the wake of defender Branislav Ivanovic's stunned reaction on live television after Tuesday night's semi-final triumph to being told he would miss the final. Ivanovic admitted he had no idea he had been walking a disciplinary tightrope, something made all the more galling by the fact his yellow card was for kicking the penalty spot in frustration. Ramires was also booked for dissent, although Raul Meireles and John Terry - the latter of whom saw red - did appear fully aware of the consequences of their actions. Di Matteo said: "I decided not to tell them because I wanted them to focus just on the game, and there isn't an issue with any of the players." Insisting he would not have done differently in hindsight, he added: "As you saw the other night, you can be booked for anything. You have to focus on the task you have to do."