Monday, December 11
 
 

Antonio Conte: 'No team will want to face Chelsea in last 16'

Antonio Conte says that Chelsea "must be ready" for whoever they are drawn against in the last 16 of the Champions League, having finished second in Group C.

Antonio Conte has insisted that Chelsea will be one of the teams to avoid in the draw for the last-16 stage of the Champions League.

The Blues missed out on the victory required against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night to top Group C, meaning that they will not be among the seeded sides for Monday's draw.

Should Liverpool beat Spartak Moscow on Wednesday, Chelsea's next opponents will be restricted to one of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain or Besiktas.

Manager Conte is confident in his side's ability to progress through no matter which team comes out of the hat, though, telling reporters: "When you play this competition, then you go through, you must be ready to face the best teams, in this case we know we could play against Barcelona, PSG or Besiktas.

"We must be ready, because this is the best tournament and for this, if we want to go through or be a protagonist in this tournament you must be ready to face every team. I think our opponent would not be happy to play against us.

"I remember during the European Championship with the [Italy] national team, we finished first in our group and then played against Spain, then Germany, and then if we beat Germany we'd have to play against France. Sometimes it's not so important. To reach the next round we must be happy with this, and after a performance like this I think the coach must be happy."

Only once before have Chelsea collected fewer points in the current format of the Champions League group stage - 2012-13, when they were eliminated from the competition.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City16151048113746
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd16112336112535
3Chelsea16102428131532
4Liverpool1686234201430
5Arsenal1692530201029
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1684428141428
7Burnley168441512328
8Leicester CityLeicester166552322123
9Watford166462527-222
10Everton165472029-919
11Southampton164661619-318
12Huddersfield TownHuddersfield165381126-1518
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton164571421-717
14Bournemouth164481519-416
15Stoke CityStoke164481935-1616
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle164391625-915
17West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom162771222-1013
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham163491432-1813
19Swansea CitySwansea163310918-912
20Crystal Palace162591027-1711
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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City16151048113746
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd16112336112535
3Chelsea16102428131532
4Liverpool1686234201430
5Arsenal1692530201029
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1684428141428
7Burnley168441512328
8Leicester CityLeicester166552322123
9Watford166462527-222
10Everton165472029-919
11Southampton164661619-318
12Huddersfield TownHuddersfield165381126-1518
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton164571421-717
14Bournemouth164481519-416
15Stoke CityStoke164481935-1616
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle164391625-915
17West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom162771222-1013
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham163491432-1813
19Swansea CitySwansea163310918-912
20Crystal Palace162591027-1711
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

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