Chelsea will square off with Atletico Madrid, AS Roma and Qarabag in this season’s Champions League. It’s not an easy group by any stretch of the imagination.
Every top team was hoping for an easy Champions League draw on Thursday evening. If you are a Manchester United fan, you will be over the moon. If you are a Chelsea fan, less so. Even the supposed straightforward game for the Blues will involve a midweek trip of ridiculous length.
Atletico Madrid have been competitive in Europe for a while now. In fact, they have reached two out of the last four finals in the Champions League. They will probably be favourites to qualify in first place from this group.
Meanwhile, AS Roma did not come away with any material silverware last season. However, they finished four points behind the Serie A champions, Juventus, while reaching the Coppa Italia semi-finals as well.
The games against the Italians will be tough and energy-sapping, especially when it’s the Blues’ turn to travel to the Stadio Olimpico.
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The fourth team in the group, and nailed-on favourites to finish in that position, is Qarabag. Qarabag are the little known champions of the Azerbaijan Premier League and will be making their first appearance in the Champions League group stages.
On paper, Qarabag should represent the game in which Antonio Conte can rest his key players. Their location, though, makes that unlikely in the away leg at least.
Chelsea’s flight to Baku, where Qarabag play, will be around six hours. The journey in terms of distance is nearly 2,500 miles. This is the most inconvenient of midweek trips.
With a thin squad and midweek football, Chelsea will need to dig deep this season. Four games in their Champions League group are difficult due to the quality of the opposition. One other game is difficult due to the travel.
The last one may prove to be tough simply due to the desire of Qarabag to put on a show at Stamford Bridge. Some of their players may have only dreamt of playing in England until now. That match will be their chance to show off to millions around the world.
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While Manchester United can look forward to games against Benfica, Basel and CSKA Moscow, Chelsea must prepare themselves for a thoroughly rigorous European assignment.