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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Joao Felix believes Chelsea can pull off shock Champions League win

Joao Felix believes Chelsea can shock Europe by winning the Champions League.

The Blues play at Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday and Felix wants to spark their season into life after impressing on his return from suspension in Saturday's 1-1 draw against West Ham.

Felix gave Chelsea an early lead at London Stadium, but Graham Potter's expensively-assembled team were flat in the second half and created nothing after Emerson Palmieri equalised.

Felix has been included in the Chelsea squad for the knockout stage of the Champions League alongside fellow January signing Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Europe represents their last chance to win silverware this season and the on-loan Atletico Madrid forward insists they can go deep into the competition.

Felix said: "Now we focus on the next game which is always the most important game. It's the Champions League. That's the competition we want to win."

Potter is likely to build his team around Felix, who he described as the "best player on the pitch" despite his red card on his debut against Fulham last month.

After struggling in Spain following his £113million move to Atletico in 2019, the Portugal international says he feels at home in London and is happy to be back on the pitch after his three-game ban.

"The one month of stopping was difficult," he said after Saturday's game. "I just want to play and I got back today to score my first goal with the club. It gives me huge happiness. Playing in this team with the quality we have is easy. We can all connect well. When that happens, the team does well."

On the test of facing Dortmund, Potter said: "We can beat Dortmund but they are also a strong side with the capability to get a result as well. We have to understand that, go to Dortmund with humility, with respect, and try to get the result.

"It's a fantastic opportunity. We have to see it that way. Obviously, it's a tough match against a high-quality opponent. But at the same time, our team has got some good players.

"The players are confident. They are hard-working and respectful. They believe in themselves. They know it's a game of football, you have to earn the right to win. We'll go there with that approach."

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