{"id":441354,"date":"2026-02-23T15:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441354\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T15:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:06:12","slug":"luis-enrique-shares-why-he-honestly-wants-chelsea-in-the-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441354\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Enrique shares why he &#8216;honestly&#8217; wants Chelsea in the Champions League"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>   <a class=\"fw\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=thechelseachronicle.com \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> Add as preferred source on Google <\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Luis Enrique has offered a surprisingly candid take on Chelsea\u2019s European pedigree, admitting he \u2018honestly\u2019 wants to face the Blues in the Champions League this season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/club\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea<\/a> find themselves in the round of 16 of the Champions League after finishing in the top eight, thanks to a brace from Joao Pedro against Napoli. <\/p>\n<p>However, the Blues are yet to find out their opponents, but it could be one of Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco or Qarabag. <\/p>\n<p>Newcastle are 6-1 up after the first leg, while PSG are 3-2 up against Monaco. <\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/uefa-confirms-chelseas-potential-round-of-16-opponents-and-when-they-will-find-out\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Champions League draw is set to take place on the 27th of February<\/a>, with a second leg still yet to come for Newcastle and PSG. <\/p>\n<p> Who starts in place of Wesley Fofana against Arsenal?\ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TCC-95-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Wesley Fofana's replacement after Chelsea red card\" class=\"wp-image-353655\" \/>Photo by Nigel French\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images       Luis Enrique wants Chelsea in the Champions League<\/p>\n<p>The PSG head coach had this to say when asked about who he wants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/tag\/champions-league\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Champions League<\/a>, should they advance to the round of 16.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been asked whether I\u2019d rather face FC Barcelona or Chelsea F.C.\u2026 and honestly, I think Chelsea would be the better option for us right now. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBarcelona are playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of rhythm. In the Champions League, you have to be smart. If I can choose, I\u2019d choose Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/match-coverage\/psg-captain-marquinhos-explains-why-chelsea-thrashed-them-in-club-world-cup-final-that-changes-everything\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wouldn\u2019t be the first time that Chelsea have met PSG<\/a>, as they got the better of the French club in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer. <\/p>\n<p>          It\u2019s getting ridiculous now \ud83d\ude21 <\/p>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">How can Liam Rosenior stop this?<\/p>\n<p>     <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TCC-94-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Wesley Fofana sent off for Chelsea vs Burnley\" class=\"wp-image-353629\" \/>Photo by Jasper Wax\/Getty Images       What happened the last time Chelsea faced PSG?<\/p>\n<p>The last time Chelsea clashed with PSG was in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final. It was a night to remember for the Blues, who delivered a clinical 3-0 masterclass. A first-half blitz featuring a brace from Cole Palmer and a strike from Joao Pedro effectively ended the contest before the interval. <\/p>\n<p>The match turned particularly ugly for the Parisians in the closing stages, as they were reduced to 10 men and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/joao-pedro-explains-why-he-clashed-with-psg-manager-luis-enrique-after-chelseas-club-world-cup-win\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Enrique himself was later investigated<\/a> for a heated post-match confrontation with Pedro.<\/p>\n<p>While Chelsea currently finds itself in a period of transition under Liam Rosenior, Enrique clearly hasn\u2019t forgotten the sting of that defeat. His recent comments suggest he views a potential Champions League knockout tie as the perfect opportunity for redemption. <\/p>\n<p>Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google Luis Enrique has offered a surprisingly candid take on Chelsea\u2019s European pedigree,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,32517,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-441354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-luis-enrique","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}