Ex-Manchester United winger outlines big Champions League aspirations after Chelsea draw

Chelsea club secretary David Barnard told BT Sport after the draw: “It’s a knock-out game and it depends on the form of the teams over those two legs”.

Thiago Silva believes that Paris Saint-Germain hold the advantage over Chelsea ahead of their Champions League knockout fixture in February.

The Round of 16 for the Champions League draw was announced on Monday in Nyon, Switzerland and threw up a few predictable encounters like Arsenal versus Barcelona and Paris against Chelsea.

“We know the Chelsea players and we know that they’re going to give everything to get past the last 16 – but we will too”.

“When we were candidates, we lost two semi-finals with Real Madrid, we lost two semi-finals with Chelsea, so let’s see”.

Blanc, however, refused to foresee a rosier routine for PSG.

“I think they were better than us at that moment”, the 28-year-old Brazilian said. “I think it will be even more hard than last season. But we hope to celebrate the qualification”. “It will be hard but if we want to win the Champions League, we have to win against all teams”.

Their potential opponents include PSG, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Roma, Dynamo Kiev and Gent, and whoever they face will present their finest chance to date of reaching the competition’s quarter-finals for the first time in their history, something they may find particularly satisfying given Manchester United’s presence in the Europa League.

For all of their domestic struggles, they have performed to a greater level in the Champions League. “I hope everyone will be in good health to take on Chelsea and to fulfill our objectives”.