Cristian previews Chelsea: “It’s a new moment, and we want to be better”
Fri 24 February 2023, 18:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
“Last season, we struggled too much against Chelsea.” Speaking in his pre-match press conference, you could almost sense a determination in Cristian Stellini’s voice to put this right when we face the Blues back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday (1.30pm).
Indeed, last season was tough at home against our old rivals, with an early 3-0 loss in the Premier League followed later by a 2-1 reverse in the second leg of our League Cup semi-final. This season, we’ve taken a step in the right direction in this N17 v SW6 battle thanks to Harry Kane’s late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in August.
Having beaten West Ham last weekend, we need a repeat performance against Graham Potter’s men to build on that momentum as we enter what could be a decisive fortnight - Chelsea followed by our FA Cup fifth round tie at Sheffield United on Wednesday (7.55pm), Wolves away in the Premier League on Saturday week (4 March, 3pm) and then our UEFA Champions League Round of 16, second leg against Milan on Wednesday 8 March (8pm).
Cristian sat down with SPURSPLAY after training on Friday, and we asked him about what he’d said about Chelsea in his press conference. “We played one match in our stadium, it was tough, we fought with Chelsea, but we struggled, and it was not enough,” he said.
“It’s a new moment, different, and we want to be better. They have a big squad, a lot of quality - my expectation is for them to play with quality. I have to take care of our team, we need to play consistently from the start until the end, with a good pace, well organised and try to do our best, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Cristian on... consistency
“We were a team with up and down moments in the season, and in games. We have to be consistent, because top teams are consistent in their performances. We want to reach this target.”
Cristian on... the next fortnight
“We have a tough 10 days, really difficult, but we are here, and we arrived on a good wave and with good vibes. We have to follow these vibes and ride the wave if we can. The next match is the first, it’s important, a huge match and we want to perform well.”
