Wayne Rooney has delivered a reality check to Chelsea fans, predicting that the Blues will suffer a premature Champions League exit.
Chelsea are eagerly anticipating the name of their opponents in the Champions League Round of 16, with Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain waiting for their name to be called.
A clash with Newcastle would set up a flurry of fixtures against the Magpies. Both Champions League legs would be either side of Chelsea’s clash in the Premier League.
If you could use just ONE word, how would you describe Liam Delap at Chelsea?
Wayne Rooney describes Chelsea striker Liam Delap using one word
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As crazy as it sounds, Newcastle are the more in-form team and have a better record against Chelsea in recent history than PSG, so Luis Enrique’s side may even be the easier option.
Even Luis Enrique has raised concerns of a few issues that his side needs to fix.
Regardless, Wayne Rooney believes that Chelsea will win in the Round of 16 but exit after that.
Wayne Rooney thinks Chelsea will exit in the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott were both asked for their opinions on which English teams will exit at what stage of the Champions League (via Prime Video Sports).
Walcott believes that Chelsea will get knocked out against either Newcastle or PSG, while Rooney thinks they’ll make it one step further.
Since the current format was introduced in 2003–04, the Blues have reached this stage in 18 of the last 23 seasons, boasting a record of 11 wins and seven defeats in their aggregate ties.
But between 2015 and 2020, the Blues suffered a Round of 16 curse, exiting at this stage in four consecutive campaigns against the likes of PSG, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich.
And with Chelsea in their first Champions League campaign after a couple of years’ absence, they’ll be desperate to go all the way after their FIFA Club World Cup success.
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