the Blues Chelsea have done their best in the last two transfer windows, spending €680m, but new American owner Todd Bohle has crossed his fingers so that his European hopes are not diminished. His team of stars narrowly missed the first round in Dortmund (1-0), but they still hoped to turn the tide in front of their fans, perhaps with the expected return of N’Golo Kante, who was injured in his long hamstring. Graham Potter predicted in Germany, “It’s only half time, now we have to play at Stamford Bridge, it will be a great match.”
Since then, the coach appointed in early September lost two out of three matches, and found himself in an uncomfortable position, as he finished tenth in the league far from ambitions and available means. On the contrary, Borussia, led by English midfielder Judd Bellingham, reached it through a series of ten consecutive victories in 2023. This beautiful dynamic even allowed the yellow and black to return to Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
Benfica is on its way
If nothing is decided between Chelsea and Dortmund, the suspense seems less intense with regard to the second round of the 16th leg disputed on Tuesday between Benfica and Club Brugge in Lisbon. The Eagles are currently hovering eight points above Porto, and are poised to make a comeback against the Belgians buoyed by a 2-0 victory conceded three weeks ago away from home. The Portuguese kept the momentum of their European downfall, as they beat Juventus and faced Paris Saint-Germain, the exact opposite of Club Brugge.
the Blauw en Zwart It experienced a cold snap this winter, with an accumulation of poor results that led to the dismissal of coach Karl Hofkins, and his replacement by Scott Parker. Qualifying in the quarters might seem like a small feat.
