Ashley Cole has dealt a blow to the English clubs still involved in the Champions League by revealing who he believes will win this season’s edition of the tournament.
Chelsea and Manchester City have both reached the semi-finals of the tournament, with the Blues facing Real Madrid and City taking on Paris Saint-Germain.
Madrid host Thomas Tuchel’s men in the first leg of their clash on Tuesday, while City will travel to the Parc des Prince on Wednesday.
City have swept all before them in the Premier League this term, currently enjoying a 10-point lead at the top of the league, while Chelsea have recovered well under Tuchel.
Despite that though Cole does not have high hopes that they will be able to progress into the final of the competition.
“I think it is going to be PSG or Real Madrid,” he told Hotels.com.
“I think they're [Madrid] playing really well, they’ve got a lot of young players, exciting players, great talent, mixed in with the experience.
“So again, with a great manager under them as well. I feel they're looking back to the best for sure.”
Cole believes that Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane will be the key factor in their clash with Chelsea and hailed the Frenchman’s managerial ability.
“His experience, I think,” Cole said.
“As much as he was great player, I think he has managed to regalvanise his team. He's a winner. He's got the team playing in a good style.
“He's probably at a little bit of a misfortunate in terms of some players got injured at key times, but they're playing now with real intensity and power.”
In the other tie, Cole believes that City will be going up against one of the best attacking front threes in football.
“The way they play now under Pochettino is that free flowing football and it seems like they have a real belief in their individual qualities and Mbappe is on fire,” he said.
“Di Maria probably doesn’t get as much credit as the other two, but what talent they are.
“They seem to be flying in the Champions League winning games comfortably and, in the League, you know, up and down.
“But it seems like Pochettino has got that cohesion now and that team work ethic and that willingness to win.”
Ashley Cole is the second of three UEFA Champions League legends to take part in Hotels.com Dream Island Campaign, which is a hilarious new video series that will take fans on a journey through the legend’s dream holidays. Dream Island launched ahead of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League fixtures in partnership with digital publisher JOE. Hotels.com is the Official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League.
