Rivaldo Exclusive: Chelsea can salvage season in Champions League

Rivaldo
10 March 2023
4:00 min read

Sterling scored as Chelsea reached the Champions League last eight

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Betfair Ambassador Rivaldo backs Chelsea to challenge for the Champions League and says Neymar must leave PSG this summer...

Rivaldo says Chelsea can challenge for UCL
Neymar's time in Paris is up
Liverpool's 7-0 win was 'beautiful'

Chelsea have a strong squad and can find their season's salvation in the Champions League.

This has been a very bad domestic campaign for Chelsea, with the team 10th in the Premier League and having virtually no chance of securing a spot in the next season's Champions League.

Their best chance of success this season isin the current Champions League season, as they have a strong enough squad to fight for the European title again.

Graham Potter may already be thinking about how to rotate his squad in the Premier League in order to have his best team fresh for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Of the four teams already qualified for the next round, I see Chelsea as a favorite to fight for the title, along with Bayern Munich.

The German team were very solid against PSG, cancelling out their stars Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi.

Neymar must join Champions League contender

Bad news came again for Neymar with his ankle injury forcing surgery and a long break, which could mean the end of this season for him.

His potential exit from PSG was already being considered but I think the club's elimination in the round of 16 of the Champions League may mean he will leave.

PSG may want to start a new chapter and the same is true for Neymar.

At 31, he is unlikely to return to Brazilian soccer yet, despite speculation in the press, because his ambitions are still very big.

I am a fan of Neymar and still think that he can win the Champions League again and claim the Ballon d'Or.

Messi did it at 35 and other players over 30 have done it too, so Neymar needs to remember this goal and choose his next club well.

Signing for a club that is a contender to win the Champions League and has a good structure will help Neymar in his pursuit of these goals.

But for now, it is time to recover well from his injury and come back stronger, as he vowed to do in his social media message this week.

Results like Liverpool's 7-0 happen ever 50 years

It was impossible for anyone to predict a 7-0 win for Liverpool over Manchester United.

This is what makes soccer so beautiful, for as much as we may think that one team arrives stronger than the other, this does not mean that on the field things will go accordingly.

Fred and Casemiro had been doing a fantastic job, giving solidity to United, and suddenly everything collapsed in 45 nightmarish minutes. It is hard to draw many conclusions from a disaster like this.

These are things that happen every 50 years and there is no way you can explain a succession of events on the pitch that lead to such a result.

My advice to them is to try to focus on the next Premier League game and keep working hard, as they had been doing until this game. The team seemed to be on the right track.

Firmino should stay in Europe

After having the joy of scoring again in a great Liverpool win, Roberto Firmino needs to start thinking about the decision he will make at the end of the season when his contract with the club ends.

After eight successful years in England, which saw him win the Champions League and the Premier League, it is normal that he should seek a new challenge. He will leave a great legacy at Liverpool.

He has already confessed to being a Corinthians fan and many fans are already dreaming about his arrival at the Brazilian club.

At 31, he should consider staying a few more years in Europe after he leaves Liverpool.

Look at the example of Willian who went to Corinthians fom Arsenal before returning to the Premier League with Fulham.

His 2021-22 season back in Brazil showed that a move there doesn't only bring good things. If the results don't come, the pressure becomes enormous.

In addition, Firmino would need to readapt to a Brazilian lifestyle he hasn't experienced for many years. He will need to think very carefully about his next step and will still have several months to do so.

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