Ex-Chelsea defender William Gallas says his former club could reach the semi-finals of the Champions League under Enzo Maresca’s guidance next campaign.

Speaking to Prime Casino, Gallas expressed confidence that the Blues could have a successful season, but he doesn’t believe they will have quite enough to win the title:

“They won’t win the Premier League. They will try to be close, that is sure, but they won’t win the Premier League. In the Champions League, they’ll be looking at a quarter-final or a semi-final. If they can achieve that, it will be another step. It means they are improving.”

“Chelsea is a club that must win trophies. I think next season they may be able to win the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup.”

The club’s recent record in the Champions League

After winning the trophy in 2021, the Blues reached the quarter-finals in two consecutive seasons, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid both times.

In 2023/24, they failed to qualify for Europe entirely before spending last campaign in the Conference League, where they went on to win the trophy by beating Real Betis in the final.

Chelsea have shown they can go toe-to-toe with the best

While some supporters may be less confident than Gallas, their performances in the Premier League (particularly in the first half of last season), and (to a lesser extent) their progress in the Club World Cup, demonstrate that the team is heading in the right direction under Maresca.

Competing in the Champions League group phase will certainly be a step up in quality from what they faced in Europe last campaign but this young group of players have the potential to pick up some eye-catching results.

In other news, we predict the starting lineup for Chelsea’s Club World Cup quarter-final tie against Palmeiras