Conte: Any big club will fear facing us

ANTONIO CONTE insists Chelsea have nothing to fear despite facing the prospect of a nightmare Champions League draw against Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain after being held to a draw against Atletico Madrid. Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge allowed Roma to finish top of Group C on the basis of their head-to-head record. Atletico finished third and go into the Europa League. Three English sides have already topped their groups and if Liverpool follow suit this evening, Chelsea could only be drawn against Barcelona, PSG or Besiktas in Monday’s draw. English sides cannot face each other in the last 16. Conte, however, insisted Europe’s leading lights will fear a clash with Chelsea. ‘I think when you go through to the last 16 you must be ready to face the best team,’ said the Italian. ‘After the draw we’ll see what happens. I think that also our opponent won’t be happy to play against us. ‘I remember during the European Championship with Italy, we finished first in our group and played against Spain, then Germany. Sometimes it’s not so important (to finish first). We reached the next round and we must be happy with this.’ Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s best player on the night, added: ‘Their goalkeeper was on fire. We should top the group but it’s a good draw, Atletico are very strong. ‘It’s not a problem who we get, we are Chelsea. We are a top team too. We can do anything.’ Conte also warned under-fire summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko that he must improve after the midfielder lost Saul Niguez for the Atletico goal.