Michael Essien claims Chelsea can win the Champions League this season and feels Thomas Tuchel is doing a ‘great job’ at the club.
In order to set up a meeting with either Real Madrid or Liverpool in the semi-final, they will have to get past Porto after getting a 2-0 win over them in the first leg.
And Essien, who was in Chelsea’s Champions League-winning squad in 2012, believes the blues have the ability to win it this year. ‘I think they can win it,’ Essien told talkSPORT.
‘If they win the Champions League that would be a great achievement for the players and the football club.’
Frank Lampard was sacked as Chelsea boss at the end of January after a run of two wins in just eight Premier League matches which had left the club in ninth in the table.
But Essien thinks Lampard did a good job over his tenure and backed him to bounce back immediately.
‘I have to be proud of him for what he did because I think he did a very good job,’ Essien added. ‘He brought several young players through so I think he did a good job. He did very well.
‘But it’s the business of football. If the results are not coming then the manager pays for it but he should be very proud of himself.
‘Knowing Frank, knowing how strong he is mentally, I’m sure he will bounce back very soon.’
However, Essien feels Tuchel is the right man for the job: ‘He’s come in and is doing a great job at the moment. I think he’s the right man for the team.
‘We just have to support him and wish him very well. Hopefully he can continue the good job he’s doing at the moment with the football club and the players he’s got.’
