All eyes are on Stamford Bridge tonight as Liam Rosenior’s stuttering Chelsea eye a Champions League miracle against PSG – and both Joe Cole and Wayne Bridge have weighed up their chances.
Chelsea play host to the reigning European champions with the task clear. They must win by three goals on the night to take the game to extra-time, having lost 5-2 in Paris after conceding three goals late on.
The Blues had performed well enough for the first hour, equalising twice thanks to goals from Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez. But Filip Jorgensen and Chelsea’s defence made mistakes, ending in a 5-2 defeat.
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Ousmane Dembele talking about Chelsea
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On Tuesday night, Chelsea will be without Reece James and Jorgensen, though Estevao is back in training. Joe Cole, Wayne Bridge and Carlton Cole discussed Chelsea’s chances of producing a European miracle.
‘Anything can happen’ according to Cole and Bridge
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, the former Chelsea trio highlighted the possibility of a miracle and that Chelsea have done it before. Indeed, Chelsea came from two down to beat PSG in 2014.
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But the three are realistic that the likelihood is, Chelsea’s Champions League campaign will end at the first knockout phase. All Chelsea fans can ask for is a solid performance and at least, a win on the night.
Carlton Cole began: “I’ve seen Chelsea work miracles before, but I don’t feel they have a miracle working in their team at the moment.” Bridge was more optimistic: “Anything is possible, but it’s a tough ask.”
Having gone on a rant about Chelsea and Todd Boehly previously in the episode, Joe Cole concurred with his old teammates that it is possible, but unlikely: “I agree, anything is possible, but you have to say PSG.”
Joao Pedro hopes to draw on Club World Cup triumph
There has always been a bit of needle between Chelsea and PSG. The two sides met in the Club World Cup final last summer across the pond, and a Cole Palmer-inspired display secured a 3-0 victory.
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Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior poll results
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Joao Pedro also scored, and speaking this week, he said he hopes Chelsea can embody that spirit to win: “We showed our power in the Club World Cup final – we won 3-0, and now we have to score three goals.”
With James sidelined, however, the ask has just become a whole lot taller. What must happen if Chelsea are to get a big win, is they must keep a clean sheet and score an early goal to put PSG on the back foot.
Ousmane Dembele’s comments at least offer Chelsea some hope, telling the media that PSG won’t sit back and defend and instead, will go on the offensive. That suggests there will be gaps to exploit tonight.
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