Chelsea players have played in some iconic boots over the years, and this Saturday night there’s the chance for a new pair to join the club.
We all remember Frank Lampard is his adidas Predators – how many goals did he score for the club in those? But imagine if Mason Mount bends a free kick past Ederson into the top corner in his nice white Nikes in Porto. They might well end up in the club museum if the midfielder continues his exceptional trajectory.
On the other hand, as we know from 2008, there’s plenty of room to make yourself a villain. After Lampard got the opener, Didier Drogba got himself sent off, Anelka bottled taking a penalty and then missed the one he was forced to take and John Terry… well, we all know what happened there.
But the fear of failure can’t be what controls this group, and that’s the message Thomas Tuchel will be drilling into them all week. Our recent form is poor, and we’ve rather stumbled to the end of the season, but our two recent wins over Manchester City will count for a lot on that front.
They are a menacing prospect given the quality of their manager, squad and the strong season they’ve just had – but we’ve beaten them twice in a month, meaning we will go into this game with more confidence than any other side would.
Tuchel has a brilliant record in the big games at Chelsea – not just against City – and we’re a team nicely set up to play on the counter attack. The speed of Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic isn’t always matched by their end product, but no defender wants to get caught high up the pitch when they’re running in behind. And there aren’t many teams who defend higher than City.
The tactical battle is set to be a fascinating one, and the mind games start now – will N’Golo Kante be fit? Will Edouard Mendy? It seems Tuchel is likely to imply they are, even if they’re not, just to keep Pep guessing.
Meanwhile City have their own smokescreens to deploy. Such is the depth of their squad that not even their manager seems to know his best team at times – let’s hope we can use that to our advantage.
Whoever does make it to the starting XI in Porto will know they’ve got a unique chance to write themselves – and their boots – into Chelsea history.
