When Chelsea takes on Europa League winners Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast on Wednesday, the European champions will be looking to repeat their success from last season.
With Romelu Lukaku set to return to Stamford Bridge for a club-record sum of £97 million ($135 million), Thomas Tuchel’s astonishing impact since taking control of the Blues in January has heightened expectations for Chelsea to challenge in all competitions this season.
Tuchel’s side defeated Manchester City to win the Champions League in May, just five months after replacing the ousted Frank Lampard as Chelsea’s manager, with the club wallowing in ninth place in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s win in Porto was their third in six weeks over City as the season drew to a close. They now aim to dethrone Pep Guardiola’s side as English champions in the long run.
“We want to win, we want to compete and of course we want to be successful,” said Tuchel ahead of his side’s return to competitive action in Northern Ireland.
“This is in Chelsea’s nature and of course we are up for the challenge.
“We will try to compete for every title in every competition we enter but I also think it will be a huge step forward if we can maintain the same quality, attitude and effort that we showed last season.”
