INTERVIEW

Friday, September 17, 12:33am London Time
Wise stands out on his own
By Nigel Clarke


The reputation Dennis Wise carries with him, not always proudly, is of a spitfire midfield player who could start a fight in an empty room.

But in Chelsea's superb 0-0 draw with AC Milan at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, Wise proved there is significantly more to his game than being an abrasive ball-winner.

He was the only English player in Chelsea's starting line-up and amid the wonderful all-round team display, Wise and Didier Deschamps shuttled the ball between them so quickly that Milan were forced to play the game at the Blues' pace or risk being overrun.

'It was the best I have seen us play for a very long time,' said Wise. 'What was so exhilarating was that we proved we could step up another level, so Diddy and I just kept it simple and tried to stop Milan from playing. That way we could leave the lovely stuff to Marcel (Desailly) and Franco (Zola).'

Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli was yesterday boosted by the news that defender Frank Leboeuf had not fractured a rib, as first feared.

Leboeuf was taken off after a second-half collision with Thomas Helveg but a hospital X-ray gave him the all-clear.

However, he looks certain to miss tomorrow's trip to Watford as he sustained painful bruising.