CHELSEA will face a brutal reality check upon their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence
The Blues won the Conference League last season and a fourth placed Premier League finish put them back among the big guns in Europe.
GettyCole Palmer will play Champions League football as a Chelsea player for the first time[/caption]
Thursday’s draw pitched Enzo Maresca’s side up against: Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), and Qarabag (A).
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A home fixture against Barcelona will please fans who are keen to see a ‘Battle of the Wonderkids’ take place between Estevao and Lamine Yamal, while a trip to Munich will have fans reminiscing about the 2012 victory in the Germans’ own backyard.
Enzo Maresca’s side will face two trips to his native Italy, one to face Atalanta, and one to face Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne’s Napoli.
Chelsea will also be reunited with a familiar face when they play Champions League debutants Pafos at home, where they will meet UCL-winning cult hero David Luiz.
Games against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Napoli means that Chelsea will face the winners of Spain, Germany, and Italy’s domestic leagues.
But they showed in the summer that they could hold their own with the best during their march to the Club World Cup title.
There, they faced Champions League winners and treble winners PSG at a time when they looked unbeatable.
Yet a first half blitz saw the Blues run out 3-0 winners in New Jersey.
As always under the Clearlake regime it has been a busy summer of transfer business in West London.
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No fewer than eight players have come through the door with more signings expected before next week’s transfer deadline.
Meanwhile 13 players have left Stamford Bridge in permanent transfers, with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku expected to follow.
Of the incomings, Joao Pedro has been nothing less than a revelation after taking the Club World Cup by storm.
And Estevao is proving an exciting option following his move from Palmeiras, while in Liam Delap the Blues now have an out-and-out centre-forward.
Alejandro Garnacho is expected to sign for Chelsea before the transfer window is over, after falling out of favour at Man Utd.
And both Fermin Lopez of Barcelona and Xavi Simons of RB Leipzig are being considered to take up a midfield berth.
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