FRANK LAMPARD reckons Chelsea could not have had it harder than with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League knockout stages.
The Blues were this morning drawn against Diego Simeone’s LaLiga high flyers for when the competition recommences for the last 16 in February.
Frank Lampard reckons Chelsea got the hardest Champions League draw possible for the knockout stages[/caption]
Atletico, who boast strikers Luis Suarez and Chelsea old boy Diego Costa, dumped Liverpool out at the same phase last term.
Blues boss Lampard said: “I think most people will say it’s the toughest draw that we could have had when you go on current form in La Liga, European experience, quality of team and play.
“But all draws are difficult in the Champions League. We have to have belief in ourselves when that game comes round.
“We’re going to have to beat these sort of teams if you’re going to win the Champions League, so it is what it is.
“Any draw would be tough but if you look, they’re top of LaLiga.
“I watched them knock Liverpool out last year, who are obviously a great team and have that experience and quality in the squad.
“I think most people who certainly have said they are one of the toughest teams we could have drawn on paper.
“But we’ll have to turn up and do our job and be confident we can beat them.”
Chelsea have plenty of league fixtures between now and then, including tomorrow’s hosting of Wolves.
That game gives his side a chance to bounce back from their surprise 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday, which ended a run of nine games unbeaten in the league.
Lampard added: “The Premier League is unforgiving. We saw that with the different results at the weekend.
“We see it pretty much every weekend or every matchday.
The Premier League is unforgiving. We saw that with the different results at the weekend.”
Frank Lampard
“We weren’t at our top level on Saturday and we got beaten. That’s it.
“We have been on a really long unbeaten run, playing some really good football as well as winning games and we dropped our level for a game.
“It’s absolutely on us to pick it up again straight away.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea are bracing themselves to have their fans locked out again like all clubs across the capital as it was announced London will move to Tier 3 of the Coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday.
Lampard never felt it was fair that some clubs were allowed to play in front of fans while others were not.
That was even when his own club were in Tier 2.
Asked if it would be tough for his players to go back to playing in an empty ground, the 42-year-old said: “Yeah, I think it will be. I’m slightly disappointed.
“Even though we’ve been in Tier 2 and had fans in for a couple of games, I did feel that it should have been a level playing field with fans if some clubs can have them and some can’t.
“We’ve seen already and felt it, the backing that they give you and what it does to the game and I think that should be pretty level.
“I also think we can control 2,000 fans coming into a stadium if they are coming from within a tier or whatever to keep things moving along. So it’s unfortunate to say the least.
“Let’s get it right, we are making it up as we go along because we’ve never been in this position before.
“And I think when you are talking about if clubs can control the situation, then I think that they’ve shown so far that they can.
“So I would like to have thought that something could be done to make it exempt where we can get that 2,000 number in. But that goes above my station, I’m just saying what I think.”
Christian Pulisic is back in the squad for Wolves’ visit after missing the loss at Goodison Park with a hamstring problem.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
