Koulibaly hoping for Chelsea-Napoli Champions League final

By Sports Desk March 08, 2023

Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly wants to avoid Napoli in the next round of the Champions League in the hope of a potential final against his former club.

Two-time European champions Chelsea beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Tuesday to progress to the quarter-finals in a 2-1 aggregate victory. 

Meanwhile, Napoli lead 2-0 in their last-16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of the second leg next week and have emerged as one of the tournament's favourites given their 15-point lead in Serie A.

Koulibaly left the Partenopei for Chelsea at the start of the season and is keen for any reunion to be delayed until June.

"I hope to meet them as far away as possible," Koulibaly told Sky Sports. "Maybe in the final in Istanbul would be better.

"We know how important Napoli is to me, but now I'm focused on my team.

"If we meet them, we will do everything to win, but I hope it is as far as possible because I also wish them to go a long way, and why not face us in the final?"

A second straight victory for Chelsea in all competitions followed a run of just two wins in 15 before last weekend.

The poor run has Graham Potter's side in 10th in the Premier League, raising doubts about the head coach's future.

"It was a bit of a difficult moment," added Koulibaly. "We knew that this game was fundamental for us; we wanted to win it at all costs.

"We played a great game, I think, and we showed the intensity we had to show. We wanted to win at all costs, and we can be happy."

Next for Chelsea is an away trip to Leicester City on Saturday, with the Champions League quarter-final draw taking place on March 17.

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  • Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash

    Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.

    Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.

    The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule. 

    Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.

    "The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference

    "We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.

    “We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."

    Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.

    And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3). 

    “As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.

    Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.

    Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.

    “The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.

    “We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.

    “It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”

  • Conte fumes at VAR after 1-1 draw with Inter Conte fumes at VAR after 1-1 draw with Inter

    Antonio Conte was frustrated that VAR did not reverse a penalty decision against Napoli as they played out a 1-1 draw with Inter on Sunday.

    Hakan Calhanoglu failed to convert the spot kick in question late in the game, with the Turkish international having equalised for the hosts after Scott McTominay's opener.

    Despite the decision not affecting the result in the end, Conte criticised VAR for not overruling the referee's decision to penalise Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a foul on Denzel Dumfries. 

    "Can they [VAR] only intervene when it suits them? A decision from the referee like this can transform a match and VAR cannot do anything about it," Conte told DAZN.

    "Either VAR is there to correct errors or it is not. If there is an error, it has to intervene. It really angers me, but it does to all coaches. It has to intervene if there is a mistake.

    "If there is VAR, it must be used to correct errors or show the referee situations that he did not see. If it's a clear error, and it was, then why should [referee Maurizio] Mariani be allowed to just do that."

    Despite his frustration with refereeing decisions, Conte was satisfied with his team's performance, as they held strong against a spirited second-half display from the Italian champions.

    "I said that we would not come here to just be sparring partners against the strongest squad in Serie A, so it was important for us to face them with strength, character, accepting duels all over the field," he said.

    "On that score, I am very satisfied. It was not easy to play here. We all know that we are making improvements and working hard, otherwise, you don't come to San Siro twice and also against Juventus without defeat.

    "The lads are proving themselves, though, of course, we could've done much, much more in terms of quality today. There were too many errors, a lot of technical errors, but I am sure there will be further improvements."

    Napoli's point ensured they stayed top of Serie A heading into the international break, moving them to 26 points in what is shaping up to be a tight title race. Conte's side sit one point clear of Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio.

  • Inzaghi believes Inter deserved win after dominant second half Inzaghi believes Inter deserved win after dominant second half

    Simone Inzaghi was proud of Inter's second-half performance but believes they should have come away with all three points from their 1-1 draw with Napoli. 

    Hakan Calhanoglu scored with a stunning strike to cancel out Scott McTominay's opener for Napoli, but missed a penalty for the first time in eight years.

    He had previously never missed a penalty in Serie A, netting 17 in a row before Sunday.

    "I congratulated the team, if there was one side that should've won, then it was Inter. The second half was dominated by us," Inzaghi told DAZN.

    "We went behind on a set play situation where we should've done better, but we kept our heads and did not allow Napoli practically anything.

    "We hit the woodwork twice, missed a penalty, so I don’t know what more we could've done."

    While Inter dominated the second half, the strike duo of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram were largely kept quiet.

    Martinez managed just two shots, worth 0.24 expected goals (xG), hitting the target with neither, while Thuram did not manage a single attempt, though Inzaghi was still impressed by their displays.

    "They worked hard for the team and kept us solid," Inzaghi said.

    "As a coach, I have to leave the result aside and focus on the performance, which was excellent against a quality opponent."

    With nearly a third of the Serie A season completed, the title race is shaping up to be tight with Napoli leading the way on 26 points. Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio, meanwhile, are all on 25.

    "I said this would be a very balanced campaign and that is proving to be true, but I saw a wonderful Inter tonight," Inzaghi said.

    "We could probably have made more of our chances, but let us not forget the strength of the side we were facing." 

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