‘Be the best on the night’ – Joe Cole backs Chelsea as Champions League contenders despite struggles

Former Chelsea and England winger Joe Cole has backed his old club as Champions League contenders, despite their poor form in the Premier League.

The Blues fired Thomas Tuchel earlier in the season and replaced him with Graham Potter. However the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager has struggled to get his team playing consistently, with the London club sitting 10th in the Premier League table, 20 points behind leaders Arsenal and 10 points off Newcastle United in fourth.

But despite this Cole still believes that his old team can challenge for Europe’s premier competition, pointing out that knockout football is a completely different beast.

“They are one of 10 teams who could win it and on a one-off night they have the quality to beat anyone.

“We’ve seen teams who are not necessarily challenging in their league get to the final or win it – Chelsea themselves have done it before,

“You just have to be the best on the night.”

Chelsea will face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening in their last 16 first leg knockout clash.

Having struggled earlier in the season, Dortmund’s form has picked up and they are now third in the Bundesliga, just three points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

“With Bellingham, Marco Reus and Sebastien Haller back, I’d include Dortmund in the list of teams who could win the Champions League,” Cole said of Chelsea’s German opponents.

“Any team in Germany that’s below Bayern Munich has got a lot of quality – it’s the same with RB Leipzig – but also a lot of energy to their game.

“Dortmund have got a regimented style and it’s why it’s great for so many players to go over and learn from their way of playing… They’ve got enough quality in the team to hurt anyone so it’s going to be a tough game for Chelsea.”

You can watch Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea exclusively live in the UK and Ireland on BT Sport this Wednesday evening with coverage starting at 7pm on BT Sport 1 & Ultimate.