Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is hopeful of a repeat of 2012’s unlikely Champions League triumph although there are not many who believe the Blues have much of a chance of beating French champions PSG, but that is nothing new for for the defence stalwart.
Cahill was part of the Chelsea side that enjoyed an unlikely triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012 to take out the title.
Chelsea were managed by stand-in Roberto Di Matteo at the time and Cahill is hoping current interim manager Guus Hiddink can achieve a similar feat with the club, despite his side still being in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
“We have to prove that we’re a good team and good players on the biggest stage.” he said.
“Everyone talks about wanting Champions League football and they want Champions League.
“We’ve managed to get through the group and we are facing PSG. It’s massive.
“We all realise, the players at the football club, that it’s a big competition and a big game. I had experience of going all the way and it lives with you forever.”
Chelsea beat PSG at the quarter-final stage in 2013-14, but the French giants were victorious in the round of 16 last season.
Cahill believes his team can get the job done once more.
“It’s teed up nicely for a third meeting.” he said.
“This game always has pressure on it. We were top of the league last year but there is still massive pressure on these games.
“You just get a feel of how big the game is. This season in the league has not gone to plan. We’ve got opportunities in the Champions League and FA Cup and we want to go as far as we can.
“I remember thinking at the time that we’re going to have to win this to get back into the Champions League. I think it was about the next game and the next game.
“We can’t look too far beyond because that’s where you slip up. You have to focus on the first game. It’s half a game [Tuesday’s first leg].
“If we get a half-decent result over there – realising that they are 20-odd points clear in their league, waiting for this game to come around – then we are in good shape.
“They are near enough done in their league, so they’re waiting for this game and we need to be aware of that and approach it in the right way.”
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