Azpilicueta: Enjoying our growth Cesar Azpilicueta considers the football Chelsea are currently playing the best since his move to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2012. Ahead of what he expects will be a tricky test against Southampton, the defender discussed the progression of the side in recent months. The Blues go into this afternoon’s game having played each of the other 18 teams in the division, emerging with 14 victories, three draws and just a single defeat. We have scored the most goals and conceded the fewest, too. With the halfway point of the season almost upon us there is plenty for Azpilicueta to reflect on. ‘This team is growing,’ he assessed. ‘The whole team is doing the defensive work, working really well and then we have a lot of creative attacking players that can make the difference. ‘We are playing the best football since I arrived; we are enjoying our time on the pitch a lot. The new signings that came this year have adapted very quickly and this helps the whole team. ‘We are developing our game and trying to improve in every game. Everyone feels confident and at the end we have been winning which is the main thing in football. ‘We are in a good position. There is a still a long way to go in the league and in the Champions League, but in the Capital One Cup we are close. We have two games against Liverpool and we will try to be in an early final with our fans at Wembley.’ For now Azpilicueta and the team’s attention is on St Mary’s and Southampton. The Saints begin the day in fourth position – exactly where West Ham were before our 2-0 success on Boxing Day– and as he explains, Azpilicueta is no stranger to Ronald Koeman, Southampton’s manager and a former colleague of Jose Mourinho’s. ‘I know he was a very good player and he scored the goal in the [1992 European Cup] final for Barcelona. He also coached Valencia when I was playing in Spain. ‘Southampton are doing well, they play good football and I think it’s going to be a difficult game.’
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 12:33:00 +0000