Sorry Eden, Chelsea lack stardust and won’t go as far as Prem rivals in Champions League
EDEN HAZARD says Chelsea have both the squad and the manager to win the Champions League, but I disagree.
And I don’t even think Antonio Conte’s men will go as far as Manchester United in the competition or, by a fag paper, Liverpool.
That might sound a bit barmy given the fact Liverpool have dipped in and out of the top four in recent years and haven’t had too much Champions League action of late.
But, having played for the club in Europe, I know how they approach these matches and how their pedigree on the continent means they can relax into the competition.
There’s an expectation, but it’s a nice expectation because it’s your tournament – something that Manchester City cannot yet say, nor Tottenham either.
Chelsea fans will say, ‘Well, we’ve won the Champions League and Europa League in recent seasons’, and maybe so.
But I just don’t see that little bit of stardust in their squad that I see in United and Liverpool’s.
Yes, Alvaro Morata (above, right) has made a good start for the Blues and, yes, they have Hazard. But they just don’t have a player or players who can produce match-winning performances in a quarter-final or semi-final against, say Barcelona or Real Madrid, when it really counts.
I’m not sure any English football watcher could be confident of Hazard (left) being the difference at that stage of the competition against either of those sides. Whereas United have unknown quantities such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, they have Paul Pogba who will really take to the Champions League stage, and also Zlatan Ibrahimovic to come back.
Then I look at Liverpool and I see Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho when his head is back on, and even Mo Salah.
Salah has outrageous pace to burn, and pace can unsettle even the best of teams.
Both sides have players with an X Factor that Chelsea just don’t have. So I see no way that Conte’s side are going to win it. And no one can convince me that, given their personnel or their tactics, they would beat Spain’s big boys without incredible luck over two matches.
I know some people will point to Conte’s experience as a Champions League winner in his playing days as a real positive for the Blues. But I’d take Jose Mourinho’s game management in the Champions League over the Italian’s.
And even though Chelsea have won their last three games in the Premier League and things seem to have settled behind the scenes, I don’t think they have added to their squad enough for Conte’s liking when it comes to the Champions League.
I expected Chelsea to be in for a Naby Keita, a Leonardo Bonucci. Those defenders were up for grabs in the summer, and they didn’t get them, even though I suspect their manager wanted them.
And that will be a problem in the latter stages, when the pressure is really on.
I expect Chelsea to beat Qarabag FK tonight and I back them to get through a group that also contains Atletico Madrid and Roma.
But unlike Hazard, I don’t foresee a repeat of 2012, when they lifted the Champions League trophy.