Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says Chelsea must beat AC Milan at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night if they are to make it out of their Champions League group.
The Blues go into the match bottom of Group E after a defeat to Dinamo Zagreb and a draw against Red Bull Salzburg. Another slip-up would leave Graham Potter's side facing the prospect of falling out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time since 2013.
Chelsea head into the clash with Milan off the back of a confidence-boosting victory over Crystal Palace. Aubameyang got off the mark for the Blues in the 2-1 win at Selhurst Park and will likely lead the attack on Wednesday against the Rossoneri, who he spent four years with early in his career.
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The return fixture at San Siro will come in just over a week's time. And after five years away from the Champions League while at Arsenal and Barcelona, Aubameyang is hopeful that Chelsea can navigate their way through their double-header with Milan and into the knockout stage.
"Maybe we will get our first three points at home. I think this is really important – if we want to qualify we have to win the game," the striker explained after the win at Palace. "These two games are key and we will have to show character like we did against Crystal Palace on Saturday and win those two games."
Aubameyang's first Chelsea goal was one of quality. The striker's excellent turn and volley levelled the clash against Palace and gave the Blues a platform to go on and claim all three points.
"It feels very good to score, to tell the truth, even more so that we won the game," Aubameyang said.
"We had a great attitude, even though we were down at one point, we came back and showed great character and I am really happy. When you are a striker you just want to get that first goal as soon as possible and it came today, so I am really happy."
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