Chelsea's last taste of the Champions League underlined the gulf that has grown. A 4-1 defeat to Bayern Munich, and 7-1 on aggregate, may have appeared more respectable when Barcelona were then thrashed 8-2.
Chelsea, however, were outclassed before they were eliminated. “We had a heavy score,” reflected captain Cesar Azpilicueta. “We could see how they played; the intensity, the concentration. That is what it takes.”
It was an education for a young team. “A great marker in terms of the levels to be attained,” said Frank Lampard, who captained Chelsea to glory against Bayern in 2012. “It is a great platform to learn because in the Champions League you are playing against the best and we played against the best in Bayern Munich.”
Chelsea, in contrast, are Europe’s biggest, at least in terms of summer spending.
They return to continental competition against Sevilla, strengthened by some £220 million ($285m) of signings, spearheaded by Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, the scorers of three goals against Southampton on Saturday. "We have the quality and ability to fight for everything," added Azpilicueta.
Perhaps this is a barometer of progress, perhaps a chance to gauge expectations. Certainly it offers a flashback to Lampard’s inaugural Champions League campaign. It also commenced against Spanish opposition and Valencia won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea v Southampton ratings
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“Getting through the group was a good outcome after losing the first game,” said Lampard.
If Chelsea hope to ensure history does not repeat itself, a meeting of the last two Europa League champions offers a contrast: one a buying club, one a selling one. Sevilla have been great overachievers when they have ventured abroad whereas, over the last six seasons, Chelsea have not been, despite Maurizio Sarri’s 2018-19 triumph.
Last season these teams came fourth in England and Spain. Azpilicueta deflected questions about where Sevilla would finish in the Premier League but said: “We saw them beat Manchester United in the Europa League.”
Chelsea’s stuttering form does not offer optimism.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted in the Premier League,” Azpilicueta said. Chelsea have two 3-3 draws already this season. “We have to improve the defensive side and this is a problem we have to fix collectively and individually,” said right-back Azpilicueta.
“One day you can get away with it but you cannot rely every single game to score four goals. To have this solidity defensively is key moving forward.”
Lampard is all too aware of the damning figures, with 18 goals conceded in nine European matches on his watch, plus 63 in 43 in the Premier League. He chose to highlight other facts. “The other stat is we have conceded the second least shots in the Premier League behind Manchester City,” he said. “We don’t concede many shots but when we do, we concede goals.”
That, in turn, highlighted the shortage of saves from Chelsea’s goalkeepers. The summer recruit Edouard Mendy may yet resolve that issue but a thigh injury rules him out on Tuesday and Kepa Arrizabalaga conceded three times against Southampton on Saturday.
“Sometimes you feel everything goes against you,” said a more sympathetic Azpilicueta, but his compatriot will be in the spotlight again.
Lampard reflected back to Bayern: the missed chances at home, the four-minute double from Serge Gnabry to take the game away from him, the red card for Marcos Alonso and Jorginho’s needless booking to rule each out of the second leg.
The Champions League can be unforgiving. “Concentration and focus and discipline becomes even more important than at other levels of football,” he said. But Azpilicueta provided the rallying cry. He said: “We are Chelsea, we are at home and we have to be ready to compete.”
