Roma sporting director Monchi has said that Atletico Madrid are a bigger threat to the Serie A club than Chelsea in the group stages of the Champions League.
The Italian side face Atletico at the Stadio Olimpico tonight, while the Blues face Azerbaijan champions Qarabag at Stamford Bridge, and speaking to Movistar Plus yesterday (quotes via the Corriere Dello Sport), the former Sevilla director of football says Diego Simeone’s side are the biggest threat:
“For me it (Atletico Madrid) is the toughest opponent in the group, even more than Chelsea. They have already been working together for three, four, five years, with the same technician and without changing many players, almost no one. That’s why they are a really terrible opponent. We hope tomorrow is a great match and of course Roma is going to win it.”
Chelsea will face Roma in their two group games at the end of the October. The Serie A side will travel to Stamford Bridge for the first match on October 18th before the Blues make the trip to Italy on October 31st to play at the Stadio Olimpico.
For the first group match tonight, Antonio Conte has said he is considering rotating the squad against Qarabag in order to ensure the squad remains fresh for the four competitions the club will play in this campaign.