Didier Drogba: 'I respect Benfica'

Chelsea's Didier Drogba has claimed that he respects Champions League opponents Benfica following an alleged slight against the Portuguese side.

The striker appeared to feign a fearful shiver when the two sides were drawn together in the quarter-final, an act which offended the opposition's manager Jorge Jesus.

Speaking after his side's 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg, Drogba insisted that Chelsea will be taking the second-leg "very seriously".

"It is a great result. The most important thing is that we have scored that goal away from home," The Mirror quotes him as saying.

"But we have a lot of respect for Benfica. We will take the return leg very seriously."

Chelsea described the incident as "a complete misunderstanding", while teammate David Luiz claimed that Drogba was reacting to the potential semi-final against Barcelona.

Barcelona must overcome AC Milan to secure passage to the next round. The two teams drew 0-0 at the San Siro this evening.