MERINO CAN’T WAIT TO TACKLE FABREGAS
NEWCASTLE MIDFIELDER RELISHES CHANCE TO TAKE ON CHELSEA’S RAFT OF SPANISH STARS
Newcastle United midfielder Mikel Merino is relishing going head-to-head with Cesc Fabregas at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
The 21-year-old hopes to face his Spanish countryman in tomorrow’s Premier League game against Chelsea.
Merino returned to Rafa Benitez’s starting XI in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion after recovering from a back problem.
And he hopes to keep his place at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte also has Alvaro Morata, Pedro and Cesar Azpilicueta in his squad.
“Chelsea have some great Spanish players,” said Merino, signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
“They have great players all over the field, but it’s obviously the Spanish players that I know most about and have grown up watching.
“We know it’s going to be a hard match, but we’ll be going with plenty of confidence, knowing that we can beat anybody. We want to do a great match.”
Merino’s direct opponent could be former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder Fabregas, who won the World Cup and European Championships, twice, with Spain.
Fabregas, 30, has also twice won the Premier League with Chelsea.
“I’m looking forward to playing against Fabregas – he’s been a great player for Spain and in the Premier League,” said Merino.
“For a player, like me, who’s young and playing my first matches as a professional, it’s incredible to play against someone like Cesc Fabregas.
“You feel like you are in a film or a video game. It’s amazing to be able to play against one of these players.
“But it makes me even more determined to improve myself so I can fight with them.” Merino added: “I want to show that I’m at the same level they are, and deserve to be playing against them. “Why not? Why not try to eventually get better than them?” Merino was “proud” of the way the team fought back against West Brom.
“It was a great point for us,” said the Pamplona-born player.
“The way we started the match is not the way we want to do things, and when you go 2-0 behind, it is always hard to make a comeback.
“This team never gives up, though, and I think we did a great job in the second half.
“We have to take care that we don’t continue conceding last-minute goals at the end of the first half, but we have to keep going and keep fighting.
“We knew this league would be difficult, and we always knew we would win and lose games, but at the end, we got a draw that was good for us. It was very important to put an end to the run of defeats.
“I think another team with four straight losses might have put their heads down when they 2-0 behind.
“But we are fighters. We did not think like that. We knew we had to fight for every ball, every time in every minute.
“We did that, so we came away with a lot of pride.”
The second-half fightback has buoyed Benitez’s players ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge. “It is always a big confidence boost when you come back to get a result like that,” said Merino.
“We know it will be a really hard game at the weekend, and we will have to do a lot of working and a lot of running, but we’ll be going there with a positive result behind us, and looking to play positive football.
“We might have to make a few adjustments in defence, because we are letting in too many goals, but we showed some good signs to come back.
“We know what we have to do. I think the fight that we showed is the most important thing that a team can have.”