Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said that the Blues need to qualify from their Champions League group before thinking about the knockout phase. The west London giants have been pitted in a group of death with Ajax, Lille and Valencia, and Lampard is aware that his team need to play at their best to reach the round of 16 stage of the elite competition.
Speaking in a press conference, Lampard said that qualification from the group stage remains the primary ambition for this season’s Champions League campaign and he is confident that his players can deliver the objective, he told: “I think the target is to qualify from the group. It’s a tough group but I have enough belief in the players. The Champions League is almost in two parts. The group phase before Christmas and the knockouts after. I believe we can get through but we’re aware it’s going to be tough. If you get through it’s up for grabs in the next phase. I’m confident we can get through but fully aware of the dangers of the group.”
The Blues start off their Champions League campaign with a home encounter against Valencia and they should go into that game with plenty of confidence. While Lampard’s team have found momentum with a stunning 5-2 triumph at Wolves, the same has not been the case with Los Che, who were on the wrong end of the same score against Barcelona.
Elsewhere, the Spanish club have also made the surprise choice to sack Marcelino during the opening phase of the campaign and the new manager has a tricky task on hand to get the team together within a short space of time. Los Che previously contested against a Premier League club last season and they had a forgettable outcome. Arsenal beat them by a comfortable 7-2 aggregate score during the Europa League semi-final stage.