‘If it were tomorrow’: Frank Lebouef reacts as Chelsea draw Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League

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Chelsea discovered yesterday that they will face off against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League knockout rounds.

The two clubs will play a two-legged tie in the New Year, with the winner progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Europe’s elite club competition doesn’t resume until mid-February next year, so there’s plenty of time for teams to get in several scouting missions.

Chelsea topped their group after a slow start and won the competition as recently as 2021. However, there’s no doubt Graham Potter’s side are a long way from the finished article and are underperforming domestically.

As for Dortmund, they finished as runners-up in their group this season to qualify. They did record a draw against impressive group winners Manchester City, though, and they possess some brilliant young players.

Chelsea against Borussia Dortmund

Frank Lebouef, who’s an ESPN pundit and former Chelsea player, has given his reaction to the Champions League draw.

He suggests the Blues are fortunate they don’t have to face Dortmund anytime soon given their current form, but thinks it could be different by the time the teams meet in a few months time.

“If it were tomorrow, I would be very worried because what I see from Chelsea is almost nothing. It’s going to be in three months, and many things can change. Hopefully the football of Chelsea will change; it will be more vertical; it will be more effective; it will be stronger at the back. Maybe in that case, they can win against Dortmund,” Lebouef told ESPN.

Incidentally, Chris Sutton is predicting Chelsea to run out as winners against Dortmund in this intriguing tie.

Despite some mixed results in the Premier League, Potter’s start to life as a manager in the Champions League has been really impressive.

Potter has four wins and a draw from five matches in the competition, which includes two victories over AC Milan.

The Blues fanbase were pleased yesterday to avoid Paris Saint-Germain from pot two, but Dortmund could prove to be a really tough assignment.

Let’s hope there’s an in-form Chelsea side that lines up the next time they play in Europe.

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