Branislav Ivanovic: Chelsea Will Lose to Liverpool if Maribor Performance is Repeated

Branislav Ivanovic has warned the rest of the Chelsea squad they will definitely lose to Liverpool at at Anfield if they play like they did against NK Maribor.

After securing a 6-0 victory over the Slovenian champions at Stamford Bridge, the Blues managed just a point from their visit to Maribor in Wednesday's Champions League clash after a unconvincing performance.

After manager Jose Mourinho accused his players of complacency after the game, Ivanovic has urged the squad to step up a level for their visit to Merseyside.

"We know how our performance has to be to get the points from Liverpool away. I think if we play against Liverpool as we played against Maribor, we know it is not possible (to get any points)," the defender said, according to Standard Sport.

"Of course this was a warning to the team and this is good. When you look on the positive side of these games, this is a reminder. It is a warning against complacency. We can't be relaxed. We have to learn from every game.

"When we go into a match relaxed and don't play for 90 minutes with our level of performance and intensity, we struggle to get results. We have to be smart and play every game for 90 minutes."

Although the Blues have had one day less than Liverpool to recover with Brendan Rodgers also resting a number of key players in the defeat against Real Madrid, Ivanovic believes they will have no excuses if they fail to secure three points.

"We still have two days to recover - this is normal. It's not the first time we have had to do that. We are professional and have to do a lot of things to be ready for that game,"

"It's massive - one of the crucial games for us. For this kind of game you always have to find extra motivation and it's not about tiredness or fitness."