Ex-Chelsea star Gary Cahill predicts in-form Benzema and Vinicius Jr. to cause havoc against Blues

If there’s one man who knows what it takes to succeed in Chelsea’s famed strip, it’s former Blues defender Gary Cahill.

Cahill, a two-time Premier League winner and a member of the 2011-12 Champions League winning side, won the lottery ticket while in West London.

At the time, Frank Lampard was a regular in Chelsea’s midfield and The Blues were dominant in almost every aspect of their game. Both at home and on the European stage.

But fast forward to April 2023 and Lampard, along with a new Chelsea team, face an entirely different situation. They have not secured a win since the arrival of the club legend as caretaker manager and now face Real Madrid in a bottleneck second leg match.

After a 2-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, Lampard’s side may be ‘struggling with confidence’ ahead of the Spanish squad, according to former Blues defender Cahill.

Speaking to Mail Sport about the Chelsea players’ performance in recent weeks, Cahill said: “It comes down to individual pressure and the standards you set yourself.

“When I played I knew that managers would come and go and that I would be good if I kept my levels where I expected them to be.

“I feel like now some players will struggle a bit with confidence and think ‘I’m not at the level I want to be’.”

Lampard has appeared in three games since replacing Graham Potter in the Chelsea dugout, losing in all three games.

In those three games, Lampard has not been afraid to experiment with the abundance of talent that the Chelsea squad boasts.

The only problem is he’s struggling to find any stability with the squad and that’s something Cahill says has been a problem all season.

“I think it’s so hard to manage a huge squad of individual players who, let’s face it… they’re international players with big egos who think they have to start games.”

“To do that is very difficult because you have to leave a lot of players in the stands. I was a little sorry when Graham Potter got the job,’ Cahill said.

“He was trying to manage the squad he had at the time and then more are added into the mix and it’s almost like ‘how do I juggle this?’

‘I think that’s a tough job. But I think for the match in Madrid whoever is selected to start and sits on the bench will be so motivated to go there.’

The Blues, if they are to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League, will need to nullify the attacking threat that Madrid harbors.

And former Chelsea star Cahill suggests the Blues could be in trouble if they can’t stop the two Madrid frontmen.

In 34 appearances to date, French talisman Karim Benzema has scored 26 goals for Madrid, while in-form winger Vinicius Jr has made a habit of embarrassing English sides in the Champions League.

Benzema is incredible right now. I say right now, but his career has been a joke,” Cahill continued.

“I also like Vinicius Jr. I find him an exciting player to watch. He’s a player you were going to see. Like Eden Hazard at Chelsea, he is a player that people pay to see. I think those two are big threats for Chelsea.

‘It is difficult. You can’t be too defensive when you’re at home and you need goals, you have to manage the game. I’m sure the coaching staff will try to get that right.’

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