We are not afraid of anyone, says Conte
Antonio Conte has insisted he is not worried by the prospect of Chelsea having to face one of Europe’s heavyweights in the last-16 of the Champions League after his team missed out on top spot in Group C.
He also took a swipe at some of Chelsea’s English rivals by claiming they had “easier in the group stages than his side.
Chelsea equalised through a Stefan Savic own goal after going behind against Atletico to a Saul Niguez strike. But Conte’s team could not find a winner, with substitute Willian missing a sitter, and had to be content with second place in Group C behind Roma.
That means Chelsea could face Barcelona, Paris Saint-germain, Besiktas or potentially Sevilla if Liverpool fail tonight to hold on to top spot in Group E. The draw will be made on Monday.
Conte said: “When you go through to the next round in this competition, you must be prepared to face the best teams. We could play against Barcelona, PSG or Besiktas, but we must be ready.
“This is the best tournament. That’s why you want to go through and try and be a protagonist. At the same time, our opponents won’t be happy to play against us.
“I remember during the European Championship with the Italian national team, we finished first in our group and played against Spain, then Germany and, if we’d beaten Germany, we’d have had to play France.
“Sometimes it’s not so important [to finish first]. We reached the next round. After a performance like this, the coach must be [happy].”
Manchester United topped their group, while Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have already qualified for the last 16, and Liverpool are on course to win Group E.
But Conte believes some of Chelsea’s rivals have enjoyed a much easier test and warned the English teams could suffer from fatigue in the knockout stages.
“To go with five teams into the next round, that means the level of the Premier League is very high and there is a lot of quality in the players,” said Conte. “This Champions League is showing this.
“It was not simple but easy for a lot of these teams to go into the next round. But in the future we have to see. Don’t forget, here the season is very tough. You have to play a lot of games. When you accumulate games, games, games and then you arrive at the final stage, playing in the quarters or the semis, the English teams have a lot of games in their legs.
“For this reason, it could be problematic to win. But, at the same time, the English teams are very good and have the possibility to win and reach the final of the Champions League. I just ask in which physical condition you arrive in that last stage to play in the Champions League [final].”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s longstanding interest in Alex Sandro has been given a huge boost as the leftback wants to quit Juventus.
Conte made Sandro one of his top summer targets, but, having been confident of landing the Brazilian, Chelsea walked away from a deal when the Italians refused to drop their £80million asking price.
But Juve may now be forced to sell Sandro for around £50million after the 26-year-old made it clear he was unhappy at the club. Sandro refused to force through a move to Stamford Bridge during the summer, but that might not be the case if Chelsea bid in January.