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File picture of Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas celebrating after winning the Capital One Cup.
The Guardian/Washington DC
Cesc Fàbregas urged his Chelsea teammates to emulate the European champions, and his former team, and bring the Champions League trophy back to Stamford Bridge.
José Mourinho’s side end their three-match north American tour in Washington DC with an intriguing pre-season test against a side who swept the board last season. Lionel Messi and Neymar are being rested by Barça this summer, yet with the likes of Luis Suárez and Andrés Iniesta set to start, the Premier League champions will need to be on their mettle for the match in the US capital, which kicks off at 8pm local time (1am BST).
Mourinho’s Champions League campaign came to an abrupt end last season when Paris Saint-Germain knocked them out in the last 16. He will enter this season’s tournament aiming to win it for the third time in his career – and for the first time with Chelsea.
That failure was the only blot on Fàbregas’s copybook in his first season in west London following his £23m move from the Camp Nou last summer. “I always say that the Champions League was the one disappointment from last season,” he said. “I gave the team a seven or an eight out of 10 for the year, but to complete a top, top season we needed to do better in the Champions League,” said the Spain international.
“Unfortunately we went out in the last 16 on away goals, we didn’t actually lose the game. But we do have to play better in the Champions League this season.
BARCELONA CONNECTION
“It is nice to play against [Barcelona]. I spent beautiful years there, some of the most beautiful moments of my career and my life personally as well. It will be great to play against them again,” said Fàbregas. “I think they are the best team in the world, especially when the front three are on form. I don’t remember a front three in Messi, Suárez and Neymar as powerful and talented as those three since I was born. Obviously they are a threat to everybody in the competition again this season.
“We won’t be playing against Messi and Neymar in this game, so we are a bit lucky because of that. But if we want to win Champions Leagues, we have to compete against the best. We will have to do well.
“We have players like Hazard, Oscar, Costa and Willian who play in the attacking positions and for sure we have a great team. We showed that last season by winning the League and the Capital One Cup and we want to show it again.”
Now to see what happens.
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