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Sevilla boss labels Chelsea genuine Champions League contenders

Julen Lopetegui
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Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui says the Chelsea squad boasts enough quality to win the Champions League this season.

Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui insists Chelsea are good enough to win the Champions League this season.

The Blues got to the round of 16 last term before they were sent crashing out by eventual winners Bayern Munich on a 7-1 aggregate.

Chelsea has taken just eight points from their first five Premier League games so far. Their latest outing saw them blow a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Southampton last weekend.

The Blues boss has pinned his side’s struggles to the lack of a proper pre-season schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Lopetegui says Sevilla themselves have similar right to give the same excuses at Chelsea given they saw an extended campaign on the way to their Europa League triumph.

“I can’t comment on what he said but if anyone has had an atypical pre-season then it is us.” he said as per the club’s website.

“We have been saying this since everything started amid this complex situation,” he continued.

“I don’t think you can look at these things too much and I think you just need to focus on adapting as best as possible with solutions.

“I think everybody has had a disrupted pre-season. Some had 12 days off. I think we need to adapt to the new reality as quickly as possible.

“Something that can help us is the excitement we feel when we get to compete in a competition like the Champions League, which is extremely demanding and exciting.

“We are against one of the teams that can win the competition in Chelsea. We need to perform well tomorrow, that’s the only thing we can do.”

All eyes will be on Stamford Bridge for an exciting clash when Chelsea host Sevilla at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

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