We approach the second leg of our Champions League tie with Galatasaray next Tuesday, and as the boys in blue dream of Lisbon in May, we look forward to what could be an interesting few months in Europe’s greatest competition.
First, of course, we need to see off Drogba’s Galatasaray at the Bridge next week; the Blues go into the game with a vital away goal as the score sits at 1-1, in what could be a memorable second leg. With the likes of Barca, Madrid, Bayern, and PSG all more than likely to progress into the next round, do Chelsea really have what it takes to progress in this year’s competition?
I think most Chelsea fans will agree that in 2011/12 – culminating in that night in Munich – we didn’t pose the biggest threat amongst the teams that remained in the knockout stages. But what was it that made us so resilient in Europe? So determined to succeed? One thing that hasn’t changed is our defensive backbone; the same central pairing that took us to the final two years ago (granted JT’s absence after the infamous red card in the Semi-Final), hope to do the same this season.
The English core in the Blues’ defence this season has played a pivotal role in our title challenge, as Chelsea pose the greatest defensive record in the top flight. Taking that same level of defensive integrity into Europe, however, is a whole different story. The Blues’ back four could potentially face forwards in the shape of Ronaldo, Benzema, Messi, Mandzukic, and Neymar, along with others in an endless list of deadly finishers, and you get the feeling that stability from the back will play a crucial role in determining our fate in the next couple of months.
The West Londoners also lack the defensive support of Nemanja Matic in the knockout stages of this year’s competition, so what affect will that have on our chances? Matic has helped the Blues to six clean sheets from the nine games the Serbian has featured in this season, a factor that could be largely missed if we were to progress on Tuesday night.
A certain added factor to our European hopes this year lie with Eden Hazard. The Belgian has been undoubtedly electric this season, and his goal against Bayern in this year’s Super Cup proved just how effective he can be against the ‘big’ teams.
For me the biggest difference is up top, a tedious point of which I am not afraid to repeat. Unlike their league form this season, surprisingly, between Torres, Eto’o and Ba, the forwards have netted over half of our goals in Europe. But the harsh reality is we are yet to face the ‘big’ teams. I’m not convinced that, without the presence of a Drogba, we are able to assert any sort of dominance into a European title challenge – although I hope my pessimism is thrown back at me!
Ultimately, that is the difference. I don’t see the team we have now going to the Bernabéu and scoring two goals, despite the squad consisting of more talented players than we held two years ago. But as I’ve previously learnt, don’t put anything past Chelsea in European competitions!
Who are you predicting to see lift the trophy this year?
I see Madrid winning this years UCL…….I see us progressing against Galatassaray and depending on who we get in the QF, we can go to the semis too ..only hope we don’t get hammered from all sides in April with Champions league in mid-week and the PL on the weekends. The players have to brace themselves for quite a ride.
Madrid & PSG look great, and you cant write off Barca either.
Looking forward to an exciting end of the season!