Kai Havertz believes this season's Champions League is the ideal opportunity for Chelsea to prove their doubters wrong.
Domestically, the Blues have been poor this term. Graham Potter's side sit 10th in the Premier League table and are already out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
However, when it comes to the Champions League, there is always quiet confidence from Chelsea supporters – and rightly so given their success and history in the prestigious European competition. Tonight they take on Borussia Dortmund in west Germany in the first leg of the Round of 16, where Havertz will be returning to his homeland.
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The Germany international, who hasn't been at his best this season for Chelsea, has a history in the competition for the Blues. He was the man who scored the famous winning goal in Porto back in 2021 as Chelsea lifted their second Champions League trophy with a 1-0 win against Premier League rivals Manchester City.
Havertz has proved time after time that he is the man for the big occasion at Chelsea and he will be hoping he can be just that once again this evening at Signal Iduna Park. The 23-year-old sounds quietly confident when asked about his team's chances in the Champions League and has admitted it's a great chance for Chelsea to salvage something from what has been a turbulent season.
"When a new coach comes in, in the middle of the season, there's been many changes in the club, a new owner, new players, it's a completely different situation," Havertz said to UEFA's Champions League magazine show, via Chelsea's official website. "I think everything needs time to settle in.
"Of course, our goal still remains reaching the top four, but I think everybody knows that we're not satisfied and that Chelsea's expectations before the season were different. We're here to win titles and that goes for every year.
"A season like this isn't easy for us at all. We'll now focus on the Champions League because we know we're a 'tournament team' and that we're able to achieve great things this season there.
"The Champions League is special, you never know what is going to happen. We were in 10th place in the Premier League when we changed manager in 2020/21 and suddenly we played the Champions League final. It all happens very quickly, so you don't know what will happen.
"I think this game [vs Dortmund] will be an amazing match and both teams have good chances to go through. Therefore I am keen to see how it turns out."
Havertz will come head-to-head with his close friend Julian Brandt this evening. The Borussia Dortmund playmaker came through the academy with Havertz during their days at Bayer Leverkusen and now both star for the German national side.
"Julian is also quite an introverted guy, which means he's unlikely to approach people of his own accord and needs time to feel at ease around people," Havertz said on his relationship with Brandt. "That's the way it was with me, too. Neither of us are the type who go out and get to know people right away. Rather, we grew closer over the course of a year.
"We are both players who have the same idea of how to play the game, which helps us to understand one another on the pitch because we both have similar ideas about football. And then there's the friendship aspect, too, and if that works then the understanding on the pitch is probably all the better. That's the way it was with us two.
"We got on well on and off the pitch, so personally I enjoy looking back on that time. It was a great time and I think it helped both of us significantly in terms of our development."
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