Dortmund eye win over Chelsea

German club’s recent signing Ryerson says new faces will cause problems for Blues

BERLIN:

Borussia Dortmund's recent signing Julian Ryerson said on Tuesday Chelsea's winter splurge "could be an advantage" for the German side, ahead of Wednesday's Round of 16 Champions League clash.

The Premier League side flexed their financial muscle in the transfer window to bring in half a dozen new arrivals and are calculated to have spent more than clubs in Germany, Spain, Italy and France combined.

Sitting alongside manager Edin Terzic, Ryerson said Chelsea could struggle to fit the pieces together at short notice.

"That's a challenge for them, with so many new additions," said Ryerson, who arrived in January from Union Berlin and is in line to make his Champions League debut on Wednesday.

"For us, there's only me and Julien (Duranville), which could be an advantage for us."

Terzic said Chelsea's "movement in the transfer window" meant the English side was "not easy to analyse."

"You don't know exactly what line-up they'll put out here (on Wednesday).

"As always, we'll focus on ourselves."

Unlike Dortmund, who are on a six-match winning streak since the winter break, Chelsea are struggling. They have won only one of their last 11 matches in all competitions.

Despite bringing in several new additions for eye-watering fees, UEFA rules permit Chelsea only to include three of their new signings in the squad.

The London side opted for loan addition Joao Felix, World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez and Ukranian winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

Terzic said "what we've done in the league in the past few weeks doesn't count", saying "the game starts at 0-0."

Terzic said he was looking forward to seeing Chelsea counterpart and friend Graham Potter.

The two remain close after studying football management together.

"What fascinated me is the way he went to Sweden and took over a team in the middle of nowhere, then took them to a (Swedish) Cup win and the top division.

"It will be nice to see him tomorrow. I don't think we could have imagined we would meet each other in the Round of 16 of the Champions League."

Benfica looking within to fill Enzo void

Benfica sold Enzo Fernandez for a British record transfer fee in January but are looking within their ranks to fill the gap in their midfield as the Champions League returns.

The Portuguese side have always shown an impressive capacity for recovery after losing star players and are already finding their feet without the Argentine World Cup winner.

Benfica, five points clear of Porto at the top of the Portuguese league, visit surprise package Club Brugge in the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition on Wednesday with high hopes despite Fernandez's departure.

Handed a tough group featuring Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, Benfica went unbeaten and finished top to reach the knock-out rounds, with the Italian giants – the two-time winners of the competition – eliminated.

Fernandez played a key role in that progress but departed for Stamford Bridge in exchange for a stratospheric fee of 121 million euros ($129 million) on the last day of the January transfer window, just six months after making his debut for Benfica.

The Lisbon-based side made a huge profit on the 10-million-euro fee they paid Argentinian club River Plate in the summer of 2022, in yet another demonstration of the club's knack for finding bargains and developing players.

Joao Felix and Darwin Nunez are two other high-profile big money sales Benfica have made in the past few seasons, the latter replacing the former after his departure to Atletico Madrid.

When Liverpool signed Nunez last summer, Goncalo Ramos stepped up a level to help replace the Uruguayan striker's goals, and is enjoying the best season of his career.

Benfica's plan to replace Fernandez has been to promote from within.

Midfielder Chiquinho, 27, largely used as a squad player in the first half of the season, has started each of the three games since Fernandez's departure.

Although accustomed to playing further forward, he has adapted well to playing in Fernandez's deep-lying position alongside Florentino Luis.

"I think he has already confirmed that he is capable of playing great games," said Benfica's German coach Roger Schmidt.

"He showed all his qualities, with the ball, his versatility, his physical capacity. I think he has done a very good job.