Mancienne Ready For Messi

Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne insists he is ready for the task of marking Lionel Messi in the Champions League semi-final with Barcelona. Blues boss Guus Hiddink is considering playing Mancienne at left-back against Barca in the first leg at Camp Nou next week, with first-choice Ashley Cole missing through suspension. Mancienne played at left-back in Monday night's reserve team draw against West Brom as Hiddink wanted to try out the England Under-21 international in that role. Now the player himself says he is ready to face arguably the best player on the planet in the shape of Messi. "It was a new one on me, I've never really played there before. I would love the challenge of facing Messi, " Mancienne told Chelsea TV. "The manager came to watch and I was asked to have a go. The manager is keeping his options open. "They told me a couple of days ago I would have a go at left-back and I did ask Ashley a few questions about it. It felt alright." Monday night's game also saw the return of Juliano Belletti after injury. The Brazilian scored to put himself in contention for a first-team recall.