Here is your Chelsea morning digest for Friday, August 14.
Potential Champions League opponents explained
With the season now done and dusted, Chelsea can begin to look ahead to the 2020/21 campaign, and more Champions League football.
The Blues will go straight into the group stages after securing a top four finish in the Premier League, albeit slightly later than they would have hoped.
And now they have a better idea of just who they might face when the competition gets back underway next season – and it’s looking tricky.
Frank Lampard’s side are set to be placed in pot two, which means they’ll come up against at least one of Europe’s big hitters – including a potential reunion with Bayern Munich.
Read more on who they could face here.
Granovskaia proven right about Pasalic departure
Mario Pasalic’s goal certainly caught the eye as he gave Atalanta a shock lead over PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
But had things turned out differently, he might not have been turning out for the Bergamo club, and instead could have still been a Chelsea player.
His contribution led Rio Ferdinand in particular to question the Blues’ decision to dispense with the Croatian.
But, despite enjoying success in Italy, Marina Granovskaia has been vindicated in allowing him to leave Stamford Bridge.
The weaknesses that need to be fixed
Lampard’s first season in charge of Chelsea must be considered a success – but that isn’t to say there aren’t some obvious weaknesses that need addressing.
Given his inability to bring any new signings in last summer, the former midfielder has been rightly lauded for getting the Blues into the top four again.
But flaws were exposed throughout the campaign, especially towards the end as they suffered defeat in the FA Cup final before limping out of Europe.
As Lampard said after the Champions League mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich: "It's not going to be overnight and we know the position we're in.”
