So, Chelsea came second in their Champions League group, to Roma who have gone on to gain the joys and ease of passage to next the round that the media clearly want us to believe.
The focus of that anti-Chelsea attention following the point gained at Stamford Bridge last night, is the fact that Chelsea`s next round opponents will most likely be one of PSG, Barcelona, or Besiktas.
Those will be tough games no doubt, but, what else should you expect in the last sixteen of the world`s premier cup club competition. Of course, had Chelsea won the group, victory in the round of sixteen would have been so much easier, you`d think. After all, we`d only have have to face the teams that came second in their respective groups.
The media hacks clearly think that coming up against one of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Juventus would be an easier ride. Surely the headline is,
`Chelsea Avoid Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus`
But instead all we here is ‘Chelsea`s failure to top their CL group means they could face Bayern Munich or Barcelona in the next round.`
Okay, winning the group could have seen us also have the chance of drawing (as it stands) FC Basel, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, or Porto as well as the three European giants mentioned. But, the odds of us getting any of the so called smaller teams wherever we finished are pretty even.
Stats wise, in Champions League history Chelsea`s record is,
Barcelona
⦁ Played 12
⦁ Won 4
⦁ Drawn 5
⦁ Lost 3
Paris St Germain
⦁ Played 8
⦁ Won 2
⦁ Drawn 3
⦁ Lost 3
Chelsea have only come against Besiktas once in the group stage of the competition, Chelsea lost 2-0 at home whilst completing a 2-0 win in against the Turks in a game played in Germany (because of a recent bombing in Istanbul) to top their group back in 2003. Chelsea have played PSG and Barcelona twenty times since 2000 and have lost just six games on the night.
Had we won the group, we`ve not played the other three big teams that often, PSG and Barcelona are our teams. In total against Real Madrid (we`ve never played them in the CL), Bayern (we have played them, remember), and Juventus, the total games played is 8, we`ve won 3, drawn 2 and lost 3.
You can use stats to make a case for whether topping the group or coming second is better, ultimately it makes no difference. Chelsea can beat any of the teams they are likely to be drawn against on any given night, the same as they could lose to them.
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