Chelsea have returned to the Champions League, and as a welcome back present, UEFA’s committee of ball-botherers have drawn them into a Group of ... well, not quite Death. But not exactly good health, either. If Antonio Conte was hoping to be able to take things a little easy in the group stage, he’ll have to change his plans.
Champions League draw results 2017: Chelsea in Group C with Atlético Madrid
Antonio Conte’s side face a tricky return to the European stage.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Their obvious challengers for the top spot will be Atlético Madrid; more on them below. But both the Londoners and the Madridistas will need to be careful of AS Roma, the group’s third team, who have more than enough talent to capitalise on any slipup from the favourites. The group is rounded out by FK Qarabag, champions of Azerbaijan, which isn’t a commute that anybody will be fancying.
Chelsea’s Champions League group — Group C
Chelsea
Atlético Madrid
AS Roma
Qarabag FK
Biggest challenger
It’s tough to know what to make of Madrid’s other team. The underlying principles of football suggest that the Diego Simeone miracle should falter at some point, since nothing good lasts forever and money always wins. Yet they just keep on keeping on. And this is particularly true in the Champions League: Atleti were semi-finalists last season and finalists in two of the three years before that.
That, at least, makes sense. Atleti, built in their manager’s image, might be the perfect cup team. At the back and through midfield, they are organised, hypercommitted, and aggravatingly difficult to break down. And then up front, they’ve got enough talent, most notably Antoine Griezmann, to trouble even the best defence. Well, the second-best defence. Atleti’s is the best, and Conte’s going to have to find a way around it.
As a final note, this probably means Diego Costa isn’t getting his move to Atleti until January. No club can risk facing up to that much narrative.
Prediction
We’re backing Atlético Madrid to squeeze out Chelsea at the top, on the basis that Simeone is a (very, very) rich man’s Sean Dyche and Burnley beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, in turn, will hold off the challenge of Roma for second place, and the Italians will have to make do with the Europa League spot. Hard to see Qarabag finishing anywhere other than dead last, sadly.
See More:
