The Chelsea leftback was speaking ahead of the club’s Champions League contest
For Ben Chilwell, his maiden season at Chelsea has been a mixed bag. While he’s clearly impressed, showing what he’s capable of on the pitch, inconsistency saw him eventually lose out his spot to Marcos Alonso.
Left out of Chelsea’s modus operandi by Thomas Tuchel, Chilwell has had to work hard to earn his spot back into Chelsea’s setup. However, he’s managed to do so successfully with manifold impressive displays including his performance against Porto the last time around.
Chilwell Speaks About Ashley Cole
Scoring a sumptuous goal for Chelsea in the quarter-final, Ben Chilwell has now revealed he tries to emulate previous Chelsea defender, Ashley Cole on the pitch. Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League tie with Porto, the leftback talked about Cole and how he was influenced by the player.
“100 per cent, that’s why I was keen to meet him and pick his brains. He became a Chelsea legend, if I can replicate that then I will be very happy,” Chilwell said when asked if Cole was his role model.
Chilwell also spoke about Marcos Alonso and the competition for the leftback role at the club.
“When the manager came in, it was a clean slate for everyone. I used it as an opportunity to work harder, to ask him questions in training where I can improve and get the opportunity, then prove to him I should be playing more regularly. It’s very healthy, especially at this stage of the season, everyone in the squad needs to challenge each other,” he said.
“Very important, the two away goals could be crucial. It’s only half a job done but we couldn’t have asked for a better first leg,: Chilwell added on Chelsea’s 2-0 lead ahead of the second tie.
“If you look at the first leg, we knew it was going to be a physical game. Very strong outfit but the manager touched on the fact they are very proud as well, semi-final up for grabs. We are not going into tomorrow complacent.”
