'Djurgarden’s Treacherous Pitch Could Be Chelsea’s Biggest Hurdle in the Conference League'

Thus far, the opposition has been quite minimal. Chelsea ’s Conference League Run that oftentimes, one had to seek danger from external sources.

For Pedro Neto, this happened unexpectedly during his visit to Spain over the weekend for the Madrid Open tennis event.

Initially, he faced being overwhelmed by a 130mph serve from world No.2 Alexander Zverev, which became an entertaining clip shared online. Later, he found himself in a difficult situation due to a significant power outage that darkened the lights throughout the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread transportation disruptions.

Honestly, I hadn’t watched tennis live in quite some time, and the speed of the ball really surprised me," Neto chuckled about his near miss from his seat right at the front. Although, one could guess that getting back to Cobham on schedule likely brought more relief, sparing him from facing the consequences imposed by Enzo Maresca.

I was strolling through the streets of Madrid with my girlfriend when unexpectedly, all the streetlights were off. Fortunately, we managed to reach the airport and escape safely. Since the flights weren’t taking off, we were fortunate to leave without issues. We spent the following day training.

Neto and the rest of his Chelsea teammates made it to Stockholm yesterday without any additional travel issues, ready for tonight's Conference League semifinal against Djurgarden . However, at Maresca’s pre-match press conference, proposed that playing at the 3Arena poses just as significant a risk to his team members. As the team found itself positioned only at number 11 during the initial phase of the Swedish top-flight season.

“Certainly, this could be a worry," Maresca stated when questioned about his concerns over potential injuries to key players due to the synthetic surface. This pitch has drawn criticism from both visiting athletes in local leagues and the team members based here as well. "I do have some reservations regarding this."

Chelsea understands the risks associated with poor playing surfaces, as they once famously suffered a significant loss when their new £58 million acquisition, Christopher Nkunku, sustained a severe knee injury during a pre-season friendly match held on an uneven field at Chicago’s Soldier Field about two years back.

Marc Cucurella conducted an experiment testing the unusually low bounce by throwing balls into the air and observing them hit the ground with a disheartening thud.

The surface at the 3Arena — dry and firm — bears a closer resemblance to the synthetic material often seen on a greengrocer’s marketplace stand. However, Nkunku won’t have to face this challenge; he was kept back in London due to a minor injury concern. Despite these reservations, Maresca feels compelled to field his key players, even though their upcoming critical league match against Liverpool looms large and seems secondary at present.

We cannot afford to reserve players for Sunday at this juncture," Mareska clarified. "This match is a semi-final and part of a European competition; our aim is to reach the final.

People from the area mention that improvements have been made to the playing surface after manager Jani Honkavaara described it as "terrible" post a 0-0 tie with GAIS approximately ten days back.

To gauge the challenge, Chelsea decided to practice at the 3Arena yesterday evening instead of training at their usual Cobham facility prior to departure. The body language observed during the first 15 minutes of the session accessible to journalists didn’t indicate that they were particularly pleased with what they encountered.

Marc Cucurella led a test of the notably low bounce, hurling balls into the air in front of a group of team-mates and then watching them land with a disappointing thud. Later, as the goalkeepers played keepy-uppy in their warm-up, several balls died in the surface, skidding on like grubbers on a day five pitch in Karachi.

Regarding potential issues within the Djurgården squad, Maresca states that he has thorough knowledge of these matters. He mentions watching all six complete games of their upcoming adversaries following his side's victory against Everton this past Saturday.

He insists that Chelsea "should not take anything for granted," following an insignificant yet humiliating loss at home against Legia Warsaw during the quarter-final second leg. After this match, captain Reece James criticized his teammates for showing "disrespect towards the competition."

Pass this distinctive trial tonight, and the Blues will be nearer to claiming victory.

To get the most captivating tales delivered to your inbox daily, simply click here. here to sign up for one or more newsletters from The Standard.

Berbagi :