Chelsea are warned that winning the Champions League again this season is ‘almost impossible’ by their former defender Frank Leboeuf… with last year’s success hailed as ‘kind of a miracle’
- Chelsea beat Manchester City last season to win the Champions League trophy
- But they have been warned by a former player that a repeat this time is unlikely
- Frank Leboeuf claims that a second triumph in a row is even ‘almost impossible’
- After losing to Juventus, Chelsea will look to bounce back soon against Malmo
Chelsea have been warned by their former defender Frank Leboeuf that winning the Champions League again this season is ‘almost impossible’.
Thomas Tuchel and his players lifted the prestigious trophy earlier this year after they beat Manchester City 1-0 in Porto, thanks to Kai Havertz’s strike.
So far, they are flying in the Premier League and look on course to qualify through the group stage in Europe this time around, but Leboeuf is remaining grounded.
Chelsea have been told by Frank Leboeuf that retaining the Champions League is ‘unrealistic’
‘A failure for a big club like Chelsea, Liverpool or both from Manchester is to win nothing,’ he told Ladbrokes.
‘I’m not sure if any of the fans of those four clubs would be happy with just the Carabao Cup.
‘The club doesn’t care about it and the fans don’t care about it, what they want is at least the FA Cup, if not the Premier League or Champions League.
Former defender Leboeuf even believes that lifting the trophy again will be ‘almost impossible’
Thomas Tuchel and his players beat Manchester City in Porto to win the cup earlier this year
‘Only one team can win each competition, though, and Chelsea have been lucky enough to win the Champions League last season but it was kind of a miracle really.
‘Tuchel came in and changed some stuff and it worked and nobody expected Chelsea to win.
‘Right now an FA Cup would be nice for Chelsea and the Premier League or the Champions League would be absolutely fantastic.
‘The Champions League is the most unrealistic of the three because it was only Real Madrid that was able to win it three times consecutively.
Chelsea beat Zenit St Petersburg in their first group game after Romelu Lukaku’s fine header
‘I would love Chelsea to win it just two times in a row but this is why it is unrealistic.
‘Chelsea won it last season and to win it again would be great but almost impossible if we read the stats.’
The Blues beat Zenit St Petersburg in their first Champions League tie this season, but fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Juventus before the international break.
In the wake of the setback, boss Tuchel bemoaned the lackadaisical rhythm and the lack of freshness from his team.
But they then suffered a setback in Turin, having fallen to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Juventus
‘Disappointed,’ Tuchel said. ‘We’re all disappointed. It was the tough game we expected. You have to play with zero mistakes in midfield and take the risks in the right moment. To do this you need to be in rhythm, good decision-making.
‘I didn’t feel us fresh today, mentally. We were in training yesterday. Today it was not like this. I don’t know why. If you need any proof, look at the two ball losses in the first half and the cheap goal we gave away.
‘I felt us slow, tired, mentally slow with our decision making. We had ball possession, high recoveries but two crucial ball losses. You can’t have this on this kind of level.’
Next up, Chelsea face a double-bill against minnows Malmo in Group H and, provided they pick up two more wins, are expected to ease into the knockouts.