AVB: We Can Beat Barcelona

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admits Barcelona are the team to beat but has every confidence his side could overturn the European Champions.

Roman Abramovich is reportedly desperate for the Champions League crown and has pinpointed the trophy as Villas-Boas’s priority this season.

Thursday marked the draw of this campaign’s Champions League group stage, with Chelsea placed alongside Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Genk in Group E.

“Barcelona are the reference,” Villas-Boas said. “They can beat any team in the world, but so could Chelsea and so could Real (Madrid). If I didn’t believe that, I’d quit the game. I’m not going into the game with a losing mentality.”

Villas-Boas also considers affluent side Manchester City as contenders for the Champions League trophy, following yet another summer of investment at Eastlands, having added the likes of Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri to their ranks. He said:

“They have joined together the best talent in the world this year. It’s something unbelievable. It shows what they want to achieve, and they have a winning coach as well, a coach who won three titles in a row at Inter.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t have the drive or the qualities to go all the way through. City are going for proven talent. (Samir) Nasri and (Sergio) Aguero. They already have their value.

“That shows that, this year, they already want to make a difference. They join an elite group that wants to be champions from the scouting and investment that we’ve seen there.”

Submitted by Football Friends