Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone claimed Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side have a few weaknesses ahead of Wednesday’s clash at Stamford Bridge.
Twelve-game unbeaten run in which they conceded just twice and kept 10 clean-sheets — on paper, this Chelsea side under Tuchel looks almost impeccable.
The odds are clearly in their favour tomorrow night.
The first-leg win in Bucharest means the Blues only need to stop Atleti from scoring a goal to qualify to the next round, and their recent defensive record speaks for itself.
Interestingly, Simeone insisted that this Chelsea side might have a few flaws — mentally, rather than tactically.
“Chelsea today have few weaknesses,” he said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday (via Marca).
“Knowing how they respond to a result against them is something they haven’t had.”
This is an interesting point. After all, Chelsea have not tasted any defeat since Tuchel’s arrival.
In fact, they have been in a situation where they had to chase a goal deficit during a game once; the 20-minute spell between Takumi Minamino’s opener at St Mary’s Stadium and Mason Mount’s second-half equaliser.
Atleti will play to win says Simeone
On the other hand, Atleti have proved that they could perform when they had to with their famous extra-time comeback at Anfield last year.
Liverpool looked very close to securing the tie when Roberto Firmino’s extra-time goal put the home side 2-0 up before Atleti impressively ended the game with a 3-2 win (4-2 on aggregate).
Simeone is clearly aware of Chelsea’s great form under Tuchel but he still seems confident about getting the result they need.
“We are facing a team that is doing very well,” he added.
“They haven’t lost since the arrival of the coach. They are playing very well.
“Our match was a bit tighter. Tomorrow we only need to win and that’s what we’ll be looking for.”