Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui has claimed that Chelsea can win the Champions League this season under Frank Lampard.
The Blues get their competition under way tomorrow night at Stamford Bridge when they host last season’s Europa League winners.
Both teams have had a mixed start to their respective league campaigns, with the Blues conceding two leads in a 3-3 draw.
Meanwhile, Sevilla have won two of their opening four La Liga matches in a rocky opening.
Both clubs have struggled with a lack of pre-season, something that Lampard has mentioned on numerous occasions since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign.
However, Lopetegui believes that the starts of the season will mean nothing and that Chelsea are still one of the top clubs in the competition.
“I can’t comment on what he said but if anyone has had an atypical pre-season then it is us,” Lopetegui said.
“We have been saying this since everything start amid this complex situation, I don’t think you can look at these things too much and I think you just need to focus on adapting the best as possible with solutions.
“I think everybody has had a disrupted pre-season. Some had 12 days off, I think we need to adapt to the new reality as quickly as possible.
“Something that can help us is the excitement we feel when we get to compete in a competition like the Champions League which is extremely demanding and exciting.
“We are against one of the teams that can win the competition in Chelsea. We need to perform well tomorrow, that’s the only thing we can do.”
