It won’t be easy – Terzic expects a tough Chelsea
Edin Terzic believes that Borussia Dortmund will be in for a very difficult test against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Borussia Dortmund are set to take on Chelsea in the first leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday. There is a real belief in the BVB camp ahead of the game, with the team currently on a six-game winning run.
The Black and Yellows have made a near perfect start to 2023, and they will now be aiming to qualify for the Champions League quarterfinals at Chelsea’s expense. Despite Chelsea’s recent struggles in the English Premier League, Edin Terzic is expecting a hard fought battle over the two legs.
During his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, the Borussia Dortmund head coach said:
“Their squad is full of quality players, if you look at who’s on the bench. With Enzo Fernández, they’ve brought in an extremely valuable player. And Mykhailo Mudryk has also had some really good performances for Donetsk.
It won’t be an easy task. They’ve brought in top players and are a top team.”
“In this competition, the last few weeks in the league don’t count, it starts from scratch.”
The Chelsea squad has undergone major transformation over the last two transfer windows, with their new owners spending more than 600 million euros on new signings.
Terzic believes that Chelsea’s squad overhaul makes them incredibly difficult to analyse.
“There was a lot of movement in the transfer window. It’s hard to know exactly what lineup they’ll show up with here tomorrow. We will prepare for everything. But we want to focus on us. It’s going to be a great game.”
Edin Terzic is also looking forward to going up against Chelsea head coach Graham Potter, whom he first met when they were both training to become coaches.
Potter took over at Chelsea after they decided to part ways with former Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel in September, and is considered to be one of the most talented young coaches in England.
“I’ve known Graham since we took the football coaching course together in England. He is an impressive personality and a great coach.
“It fascinated me that he went to Sweden and created such a special energy there. We’re still in touch and are looking forward to seeing each other.
“We never thought at the time that in a few years we would be meeting in the Champions League.”
Terzic believes that Borussia Dortmund need to deliver two very good performances in order to beat Chelsea. But he feels that if his players play like they have done in recent weeks, they have every chance of making it to the quarterfinals.
