Champions League

Chelsea secretary David Barnard: 'We know Paris Saint-Germain well'

By Pascal Lemesre, Football League Editor | 14 December 2015

Chelsea club secretary David Barnard insists that the Blues will approach the last-16 Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain with "no trepidation".

Club secretary David Barnard has said that Chelsea's players will be "motivated" to face Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.

PSG were arguably the toughest team to face for the eight group winners in today's knockout-stage draw, and Chelsea were paired with the French champions.

It is the third year in a row that the two have collided and in both the 2014 quarter-finals and 2015 last-16, away goals separated the two, with Chelsea advancing two seasons ago before PSG got revenge at Stamford Bridge last year.

This season Chelsea are languishing just a point above the Premier League's relegation zone after eight defeats in 15 league games, but Barnard is confident that league form will not affect them in Europe.

"Well it's a knockout and it depends on the form of the two teams over the two legs," he told BT Sport. "I'm not sure league form comes into it. They said about us just before the Porto game that our form was bad but we saw the quality and they came through against them no problem at all.

"This is a team that we know very well because we played them at this stage last season. Unfortunately we went out on the away-goal rule, but the year before we beat them in the quarter-finals so it's even-stevens. There will be no trepidation because we know them well.

"The players will be motivated because of that result last year."

PSG will host the first leg at the Parc des Princes on February 16, before the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 9.