'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
With a new season of the UEFA Champions League just around the corner, Premier League fans have a lot to be excited about. Five English teams will be in contention for the much-coveted trophy this year, thanks to a Mourinho led Europa league triumph for Manchester United.
Chelsea fans, in particular, will be excited to see their side back in the competition after a year's exile. Much has changed at Chelsea since the 2-1 defeat at home to PSG in the round of 16. Antonio Conte took a team in shambles and made them champions of England again. Now in his second year as the head coach, backed by some solid signings in the transfer window, Conte will surely believe that it is his time to win the trophy as a manager.
Trending
Ever since the 3-2 opening day defeat to Burnley, Chelsea have done well to shake off the blues with three consecutive wins against Tottenham, Everton and Leicester. A home game against the newcomers Qarabag to kick off their Champions League campaign offers Chelsea the perfect stage to gain some much-needed momentum to mount a genuine challenge in the showpiece event.
Let us look at a few reasons why a Conte lead Chelsea can repeat the magical evening at Munich all over again...
#5 Antonio Conte has a point to prove
Not many would have expected Conte to take a side that finished 10th and devoid of any confidence to win one of the most competitive seasons in the EPL in the recent memory with a record number of wins.
His first season at Chelsea was eerily similar to that at Juventus and it only got better for the Old Lady under his meticulous training regime. One can expect a similar return from his Chelsea squad that has been ingrained with his philosophy of football for over a year now.
Despite all the domestic success with the Old Lady, Conte's Juventus often flattered to deceive in the Champions League.
He'll want to break his Champions League hoodoo and leave no stone un-turned to keep his squad fresh and motivated both mentally and physically over the course of the next few months.
With an impressive win percentage of 76.5 at Chelsea, he has instilled a winning mentality. He also handled a turbulent transfer window well and not let it psychologically affect the team.
He is already a fan favourite at Chelsea and he will be the most important factor in any success that follows this season, especially in the Champions League.
#4 Summer transfers
From the fans' point of view, it would be a huge understatement to say that the summer transfer window did not go as planned for Chelsea. From acting slowly in the market to first choice players rejecting the club, it has been a turbulent window both for the board as well as the fans.
But since the dust has settled, we can see that Chelsea have brought in 3 young players who have slotted in fairly well and have a very high ceiling compared to the players they replaced.
Morata has hit the ground running with 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 games. The Spaniard played second fiddle at Juventus and contributed to 7 goals over two seasons (2014-2016) in the Champions League.
In the midfield, Bakayoko, though not quite up to speed, was thrown straight into the action in the London derby against Tottenham and did well.
After emerging unscathed and victorious, he has looked better with each passing game as he silences the critics who slated Chelsea for letting go of Matic. Rüdiger embraced the opportunity he got through Gary Cahill's suspension and put in a pretty good display against Everton.
Bakayoko is a clear upgrade to Chelsea's existing system as he is a better link between the defence and attack compared to Matic. Rüdiger too is a better passer than Gary Cahill, though the verdict is still out on him.
As for the other signings like Caballero, Drinkwater and Zappacosta- they are valuable squad players on whom Conte can rely on whenever needed. Overall, due to the summer transfer activity, Chelsea have a squad better equipped to go all the way compared to our last outing.
#3 Formation and tactics
With the new signings bedding in, Conte is slowly shifting from the 3-4-3 formation of last season to his more favoured 3-5-2.
With a backline of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Antonio Rüdiger, Conte has options to build up the play from the back now. The midfield pairing of Bakayoko and Kante allows Fabregas to maraud forward and do what he does best; supply the killer ball to the striker.
Even the lack of height on the right side of the defence has already been countered by intense pressing in the midfield with an extra man to stop those lobbed crosses to the striker as seen from the Tottenham match.
Hazard will have a free role behind Morata and the fans are eager to see the link up play between them as it has the potential to unlock the best defences of Europe. Wing-backs Alonso and Moses along with Zappacosta are the most important pieces in the system as they look to provide the defensive width and attacking combinations with their never ending stamina. They already look highly motivated as seen from their recent interviews.
With an extra man in midfield and a 5-man defence, teams will have to work extra hard to win the battle in the middle and higher up the pitch. That being said, no matter which formation Chelsea uses, Conte will definitely drill the players with his attention to detail. This only means that the opposition will have a tough time cracking the system.
#2 N'Golo Kanté and the defence
In the summer of 2016, Chelsea struck gold by signing N'Golo Kanté for a fee that's trivial in today's market. And he immediately transformed the team by plugging the Essien shaped hole that has been there in Chelsea's midfield for quite some time.
He consistently puts in the tackles and interceptions every single match to make those recoveries and transitions from defence to attack. And he does it with minimum fuss and maximum professionalism, both on and off the pitch.
This allows almost every other player in defence and midfield to play with more freedom as they know that he will be there to plug in the empty spaces. With Kanté patrolling in the middle, the defence conceded just 33 goals in the league last season and got 16 clean sheets.
With a more able partner in Bakayoko this season, Kanté will be crucial once again especially in Europe to help the defenders shut out the attacking teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
The man himself will be hungry to prove himself at the European stage for the first time in his career. And for Chelsea to win it all, he will definitely be the most crucial cog.
#1 Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard took to twitter to announce his decision to join Chelsea in the summer of 2012. His tweet read, "I am signing for the Champions League winner".
From day 1, winning UCL has been a priority for him. Out of the three 15+ goal seasons he had, two have come in Chelsea's Premier League winning seasons, but the UCL has been ever elusive. Needless to say, he will be looking forward to breaking that 20-goal barrier and rally the team up to a Champions League trophy.
Under Conte, he is in a system which allows him to play to his strengths with Marcos Alonso on the left flank. We saw many instances of him using his new found attacking freedom last season. He has become more level headed in terms of decision-making, passing and dribbling with time.
He has the technical, tactical and physical acumen to become the best player in the world. And there is no better way than to do it on Europe's grandest stage with Chelsea.
