Chelsea vice-captain Cesar Azpilicueta is hoping that his side can challenge for the Premier League title this season. After a less-than-impressive summer transfer window, not many neutrals and pundits gave the Blues much of a chance during pre-season, but Maurizio Sarri’s side have silenced their critics so far.
A long season still lies ahead and if the Blues wish to challenge for the title this season, then they will have to aim to keep up their momentum and minimise their slip-ups.
Sarri’s side offered the perfect response to their rather frustrating 2-2 draw against Manchester United two weeks ago by claiming a 4-0 win against Burnley this weekend. While drawing against United is not necessarily a disappointment, the Italian would have been disappointed as it was two defensive slip-ups from his side that allowed Anthony Martial to notch a brace.
As a two-time Premier League winner and now a veteran of the Blues’ first team, the performances of Azpilicueta will be vital this season in determining whether the club manages to succeed. The Spaniard has played in all of Chelsea’s league games so far and he will likely be a key player under Sarri for the entirety of this season.
As quoted by Goal, the 29-year-old said: “I hope, I hope [we can win the title]. After the draw against Manchester United, we needed to get back to winning ways. We know if we want to be top, we can’t miss out on a lot of points. We played in a difficult place, Burnley put a lot of pressure on us.
“They know very well how they play but, apart from the first 10 minutes, we controlled it very well. We scored four goals and had other chances as well. We try to play the same style everywhere, home and away. Maybe away from home teams press us more and we can get out of the pressure.
“At home, some of the teams just sit back. It’s up to us to find the solution in every situation against every opponent because every team is different.”
